


Fault

by ninjawolf10



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2018-12-13 05:35:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 56,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11753136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninjawolf10/pseuds/ninjawolf10
Summary: The loss of her Father had shook Karai to her core. The man who had taught her, raised her and give her a chance in life had been taken from her and she knew exactly who was at fault. She would make him pay though. To break Leonardo she would break his family in every way she knew how. To avenge him, there were no lines she wouldn't cross...





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, I've posted this story over at Fanfiction.net but it seems really quiet over there so I'm going to post it here too. I stared writing it last year, suffered major writers block and now I'm determined to finish it. I'll be posting at least one chapter a week and I'd love to know what you think!
> 
> I've rated it T for now and there will be a lot of torture involved (physical/psychological), if you think the rating needs to be changed or I've missed any warnings please let me know! Enjoy :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT

**Prologue**

Her eyes roved over the still form spread out and bound before her to a wide table in the centre of the room. The sedatives in his system had kept him sleeping heavily while he was brought to the building, and upon arrival he had been stripped and bound as she had requested.

Moving from her spot in the door way Karai slowly moved over to the table where her captive slept, her sharp eyes taking in the mutant before her. A small part of her shouted out that this was wrong. That revenge would not bring her Father back. However the small voice of mercy was soon quashed as the image of Leonardo invaded her mind. It was Leonardo’s  fault her Father had been sentenced to an icy asteroid for eternity. Leonardo’s fault she would never see the man who raised her, taught her, protected her and cared for her ever again. And now it was Leonardo’s turn to lose his father.

Glancing down at the sleeping form of Splinter, she tentatively reached out a hand and laid it on his chest, feeling the steady heart beat beneath the grey fur. She had to admit she was curious about the mutant, Leonardo and his brothers were truly unique creatures and yet their Master was even more unique. The only mutant rat in the world. Aside from fighting against Leonardo’s family she had never really been close enough to truly examine them, but now curiosity overtook her as she ran her hand down Splinter’s middle and continued her examination of her sleeping prisoner.

Whilst she hated the rat as much as she did his sons, her anger and seething hatred was aimed at Leonardo. She had at first thought of him as a kindred spirit, different to her, but similar in many ways. She had warned him, begged him to leave her Father alone, to stay out of the Foot’s business. But he had not listened, the constant interference of the turtles had worn her father down, driving rational thought from his mind and with it any small trace of the man she called Father. Hot anger bubbled up inside Karai as her mind continued to bombard her with the memories of her Father’s last few months on this planet. Her last months with him.

He was blind in his rage and anger, his plans became more elaborate but more flawed until once again he was defeated by the turtles. By Leonardo. Yet this time the utroms intervened, and punished him so cruelly, banishment to an unreachable asteroid. They had in a way, killed her Father. So now in her own way she would destroy the family that Leonardo cherished so. She would make Leonardo feel everything she felt and then more.

She had at first wanted to capture Leonardo to torture and eventually kill. But that would have been too kind, she wanted him to suffer as she had suffered. She would not just kill his family, she would break them. One by one if she had to. There was nothing Leonardo loved more than his family, it was his strength but also his greatest weakness and Karai would exploit it.

She suddenly stopped her examination of the rat as she felt him try to move slightly on the table, which was all but impossible the way he had been bound tightly to the table, as if he were on display in a science class. Ignoring the signs of her captive waking she continued to poke and prod the rat moving downwards to his lower anatomy. She was curious after all. Karai knew what she would have to do. Hurting the rat, would hurt the turtles, but she knew the one who would be the most affected was Leonardo. Besides this was nothing more than the first stage, at the end Leonardo’s family would all feel her rage. When they were battered and broken, she would go for him. No torture would hurt Leonardo as much as watching his family crumble around him, because of him. Moving away from the rat who was continuing to stir Karai strode to the door of the cell. It was time.

The responsible one. The Leader. The one who took her Father from her.

He would soon know how it feels to lose everything you have ever known. He would learn that control is merely an illusion and he is not the one pulling the strings.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: Still own nothing

**Chapter 1**

The Lair was relatively quiet with the only sounds coming from the video games played by Michelangelo, and the soft mechanical buzz coming from Donatello’s workshop. It was in this peaceful atmosphere that Leonardo moved gracefully through complex katas in the dimly lit Dojo. Each movement flowed into the next without hesitation creating a series of complicated, flowing techniques. With full concentration Leonardo moved through the techniques like he had a hundred times before. Keep the movements silent. Breathe evenly. Let the power flow through the techniques.

Tonight had been unusually peaceful, with the three brothers taking time out to pursue their own interests. Apart from Raphael who had left the lair earlier that evening with Master Splinter. As they had grown up and developed their own interests, Splinter had tried to spend more one on one time with them all. Sometimes this was individual training or another pursuit, but tonight the rat had taken Raphael topside for training, which had left Leonardo with the opportunity to pursue his own private practice.

Finishing the Kata he had been performing, Leonardo grabbed his towel from the side of the Dojo and headed out into the brightness of the main lair.

“Good workout bro?” called his orange clad brother without moving his eyes from the video game.

“Great workout thanks. You should try it sometime!” retorted Leonardo with a teasing smile.

“This is a mental workout Leo! It takes tactics, concentration and Ninja reflexes to score as high as I do!”

“You’re playing Sonic the hedgehog Mike! It’s hardly the art of war.”

“Just cause you lost on the first round Leo! No-one likes a jealous turtle, bro!” replied Michelangelo finishing his level and pausing the game.

Before Leonardo had a chance to defend against the attack on his video game skills, the door to Donatello’s workshop burst open as the purple banded turtle rushed into the main living space.

“Dude what crawled up your shell?” joked Michelangelo moving from his seat on the worn out couch towards his two brothers.

“It’s Raph! He just activated the distress signal oh his shell cell” rushed Donatello as he dashed around the room filling a duffel bag with supplies.

“What? Mikey get ready to go. Donnie where was the distress signal coming from?” questioned Leonardo as he helped his genius brother finish loading the duffel bag with medical supplies. Hopefully they wouldn’t be needed but it was better to be prepared.

“It was coming from a big building down town. Quite remote, with a high roof. It’s not where Master Splinter usually takes us for training though” answered Donatello heading towards the main door.

“Maybe they’re being chased?” suggested the youngest with a hint of worry creeping into his voice.

“Whatever it is, we need to get there now. If they’re in danger hopefully we won’t be too late” stated Leonardo going into full leader mode. If his Father and brother were in danger there was no time to lose in getting to their location. What concerned the leader most though was who exactly had attacked them. Was it Bishop? The foot? Were they hurt? The possibilities ran through Leonardo’s mind, threatening to derail his calm mask. Part of him wanted to show his worry and fear, but he was a leader and he needed to maintain a cool head. His family were counting on it. Pressing back his concerns the blue masked turtle led his brothers running out into the sewers towards the far off blip on Donatello’s tracker.

* * *

Letting out a growl of frustration Raphael once again tried to pull his hands apart. It had taken him at least twenty minutes to work his shell cell around so he could activate the distress signal, giving the Foot twenty minutes to get away with Master Splinter. What the red banded turtles was struggling to understand though was why he had been left behind.

90 Minutes Earlier:

The training session had been going well as far as Raphael was concerned. When it was just him and Splinter he didn’t feel the need to show off as much. Of course he wanted to impress his Father, but with his brothers not present he didn’t feel as pressured to not screw up, mostly because the rat wouldn’t mock him for his mistakes like his brothers would.

At some point Splinter had realized they were not alone and rather than alert their potential enemies, the rat had randomly decided now was the time for Ninja tag. Declaring himself ‘It’ and instructing Raphael to run. This had of course confused the turtle, but the sharp look in his Sensei’s eyes warned him to do as he was told. That look itself was enough to tell Raphael now was not the time for questions, as he started to run towards the next rooftop with a light breeze spinning his mask tails behind him. Light footsteps behind him told him that Master Splinter was close on his heels. The night itself was quiet in this part of the city. The usual traffic and general busyness of New York wasn’t as intense in this area, and it was within this quiet Raphael swore he heard the faintest whisper from right behind him.

‘We are being followed’ whispered Splinter, his voice as light as a breeze ‘keep running’

Normally the red masked turtle would protest this, he always considered it cowardice to run from a fight and if it were Leonardo in charge he would tell him so. He wouldn’t dare question his Father though. Certainly not when it was clear the rat was trying to make it appear they weren’t aware of their stalkers.

Leaping to another rooftop and landing silently Raphael tried to pick out any of the enemies Splinter had sensed but his trained eyes could detect nothing. Was this why they were trying to disguise their escape? How many enemies were there? Was it the Foot?

Raphael dismissed that thought though, the Foot could normally be uncovered more easily and would jump out and attack them quickly. The red banded turtle didn’t get any longer to ponder who their enemy was however when an arrow shot out of the shadows towards him. It would have surely hit his side had Splinter not grabbed the top of his shell and pulled him back enough for the arrow to sail past.

As Raphael and Splinter paused to avoid the arrow, Foot soldiers materialized on the rooftop. All of their possible exits were blocked as they were cornered on the small rooftop.

“What the shell is going on?” snarled Raphael taking up a fighting position with his Sai.

“It is the Foot. Though they do seem different” replied Splinter who was already holding his walking stick in an fighting position beside him.

Surrounded in a sea of black and grey Raphael braced him for the battle that was to come, but to his surprise a single Foot soldier broke from the circle and stepped forward.

“There need be no fight tonight. We will let the turtle go willingly if you surrender rat. You are the one my Mistress wants for now. You can of course choose to fight, but either way you will come with us” announced the Foot soldier with a heavy Japanese accent.

The Foot hadn’t been sighted since Shredder was banished to that asteroid and all of a sudden they wanted Splinter? Tightening his grip on the Sai in his large green hands Raphael glanced at his Father and answered before the rat could.

“No freaking way!” he shouted as he launched himself in the air and landed amongst the Foot soldiers who drew their weapons immediately. Master Splinter also charged towards where Raphael had landed, striking out at Foot soldiers as he moved.

The emerald green turtle was a blur as he struck hard and fast at the opponents surrounding him, he knew it was reckless to attack them first but he certainly didn’t want to give Splinter any time to consider their offer. As he traded blow with their attackers Raphael noticed that they fought differently than they had before. They certainly seemed more ruthless and better trained, as Raphael blocked an incoming Katana and struck out with a front kick to another attacker.

The numbers and increased skill of the enemy were taking their toll and it wasn’t long before Raphael felt a Katana slice the back of his calf, as another Foot soldier connected a solid punch to his face, sending Raphael reeling backwards. Glancing quickly to his side the turtle caught sight of Splinter facing off against four Foot Soldiers and even the Ninja Master was coming under increased pressure from their attackers.

No sooner had Raphael sprang back to his feet before he felt a series of heavy blow raining down on him. His Sai were knocked from his hands as a large Foot soldier wrapped a meaty arm around his neck choking him. The two nearest Foot soldiers raised their Katana to his neck and paused with the cool steel pressing against his vulnerable neck.

“Stop” the Foot soldier who spoke before commanded causing the Foot soldiers still standing to back away from Splinter. This opened up enough space for the rat to see what had happened to Raphael.

“Let him go!” growled Splinter, his eyes widening in concern for his son

“You know what we want rat. Surrender yourself and we shall leave the turtle alone” Replied the Foot soldier.

At this point more Foot soldiers had grabbed Raphael’s arms and the large Foot behind him had stopped choking him but was holding him tightly in an iron grip.

“No! Don’t do it!” shouted Raphael desperately as he struggled to free himself, but the battle had taken its toll on the turtle with blood flowing freely down his leg and his head and body pounding from the beating he had received.

“Put your weapon on the ground and surrender or we will kill the turtle. Co-operate and we will restrain him and leave him here. The choice is yours rat.”

There was silence for a heartbeat before Splinter’s weapon clattered to the crowd, and several Foot soldiers moved towards him.

“I’m sorry Raphael, there is no other choice”

The red banded turtle could only watch in horror as Foot soldiers grabbed his arms pushing on his shoulders , forcing Splinter to his knees as one of the ninja took out a syringe and injected it into the rat. At this Raphael felt a sharp jab himself as he too was injected with what was presumably a sedative. Splinters arms were bound behind his back and his feet were also tied together as the sedative started to take hold of the rat and he began to go limp.

Raphael also found himself losing strength as he tried desperately to free himself and reach his Father, but it was in vain as the sedative took hold of Raphael making his world go dark.

When he had awoken Raphael found himself lying on his back on the roof, with his feet tied together and hands bound behind his shell. To add insult to injury his feet were suspended above him with rope trailing from the top of the chimney. The sedative in his system was still making him groggy but with some effort he had been able to get out his shell cell and hit the distress signal. His brothers were coming. But how was he supposed to face them after what had happened. Their Father had willingly surrendered to the enemy to save his life, he had no idea why they had only wanted Splinter or why he was still alive but all that mattered now was rescuing Splinter. For once he hoped Leo had a plan.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! Are you enjoying the story?
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the Ninja Turtles

**Chapter 2**

“Are you sure this is where the distress signal is coming from Donnie?” questioned Leonardo landing silently on a rundown rooftop in a quiet part of town.

“Raph! Master Splinter!” called Michelangelo as he wondered around the rooftop looking for his missing family members.

“Mikey!” hissed both Donnie and Leo in unison. The way of the Ninja was supposed to be silent!

“Over here” came a quiet reply. Sharing a look between the brothers they headed towards the source of the sound and rounded the chimney on the roof to find their red banded brother. Lying on his shell with his arms bound behind his shell and his feet tied together, held in place by a rope from his feet to the chimney to prevent Raphael from moving. Leonardo signaled for Michelangelo to continue looking for Splinter around the immediate area while they tended to Raphael.

“Raph, are you ok?” said Donatello with concern at his brothers situation

“What the shell happened?” questioned Leonardo bending down to get a better look at Raphael, aside from a nasty gash in the back of his calf he seemed otherwise unhurt.

“They took Splinter” mumbled Raphael as Donatello set about cutting through the ropes binding him

“Who took him?” asked Leonardo

“The Foot, Leo! Who do you think? They attacked us and we tried to fight them off but they pinned me and he surrendered to save me” exploded the red masked turtle, fury rolling off him in waves

At that Michelangelo came to his brothers side “No sign of anyone else here, dudes”

“Why would they just take Master Splinter and not you?” pondered Donatello as he finally freed Raphael from the ropes

“It does seem strange” agreed Leonardo “especially when they could have easily taken both of you”

“There was something different about the Foot, Leo. They were better than usual, different training” explained Raphael as he pushed himself into a sitting position

“We need to go back to the lair” said Leonardo after a moment’s hesitation

“Shell no! We need to get Splinter back, who knows what they could be doing to him” protested Raphael, although it was becoming clear the blood loss had weakened him

“Raph you’re hurt, and Leo is right we need to plan” interjected Donatello

“Where would they take him though?” pondered Michelangelo

“Foot HQ, shell for brains. Where else?” challenged Raphael

Taking one last glance around the area Leonardo took a moment to compose himself. His brothers needed a leader now, someone to make the hard decisions. Not storming into Foot HQ immediately to get their Father back, was a very hard decision. But Leonardo knew it was the right choice, as much as it hurt him.

“We will go home” decided the blue masked turtle to the predictable protests of Raphael “and then we will comb every inch of the city until we find him. We will get him back, I promise”

* * *

Splinter tried once again to find some slack in the restraints binding him to the examination table, but was once again disappointed to find they wouldn’t budge.  The rat had begun to regain consciousness a while ago but the sedative in his system had kept him in a state where he had some awareness of what was going on without the ability to move or even open his eyes. This had left him unable to lash out at the person who was touching him; without the ability to protest he had felt hands poking and prodding his body, invading his privacy and examining his lower anatomy. He had been tortured before, but being touched in that manner while completely helpless had been unnerving. The rat had tried to move in desperation, hoping some movement would halt the violation, but his efforts were barely noticed. What had made the experience worse, if possible, was recognising the scent of the violator.

Karai.

He didn’t usually follow his more animal instincts, but he would have quite happily bit her hand off if he’d been able to move.

She must have sensed he was beginning to wake and had left soon after her ‘exam’ was completed, and he had not seen or heard anyone since. Following Karai’s exit, the effect of the drugs in Splinters system had slowly wore off leaving the rat free to struggle pointlessly against the restraints. Sighing in defeat, Splinter decided to look around the room he was in again. The only entrance and exit from the room was a heavy metal door which appeared to have at least three different locks on it and most likely had guards posted outside. Aside from the door the rest of the room was fairly cold, dark and generally uninviting. He could see no sign of his robe or walking stick in this room and the shell cell Donatello had provided him with was also missing. All in all things were not looking great for the rat. Aside from his own predicament his major concern was the welfare of Raphael. The choice to surrender to protect his son had been simple; there was no choice. Whether or not the Foot had taken him captive as well was a cause of concern for the rat. He hoped they had held their end of the bargain and left his son alone, though it didn’t make sense to Splinter why they would take him and not Raphael as well.

Splinter was drawn out of his thoughts as his sharp hearing detected footsteps outside the room. Seconds later the door was unlocked and Karai entered the room, a heavy set foot soldier flanked her on either side.

The Shredders daughter strolled over to where Splinter was immobilized, clearly in no hurry. She was dressed in her usual armor rather than the spiked armor of the Shredder, and her Katana were strapped across her back. Splinter immediately set to glaring at Karai as she approached him, attempting to ignore the burning humiliation of being naked in front of her and the Foot soldiers.

“Hello, rodent” started Karai with a smirk

“Karai” growled the rat in response “what do you want?”

“That is for me to know, and you to find out”

“I thought you had some honor” said Splinter icily

“Trust me rat, I follow the code of Bushido and honor closely.”

“This is honorable to you?” questioned the rat evenly as Karai drew closer to him, though not quite within biting range.

“Honor is not meant for the likes of you. You and your sons are animals and freaks, it is time you are treated as such” answered Karai.

Throughout the conversation she had maintained her composure and been careful with her words. From what she had witnessed, giving away too much information to captives was dangerous. It had caused many problems for the likes of Bishop and Stockman and even her own Father. The rat was the first step in her plan and she could not afford to slip up or lose any power in the situation. Everything she said to the mutant was well thought through before she spoke, she would not lose control.

Karai now stood in front of her captive and could see a flicker of uncertainty enter his eyes. He was a Ninja Master and Karai was certain he could tolerate any physical torture, but stripping the rat of his dignity had made him uncertain, clearly it was not what he had expected. Her smirk widened into a cold smile as she ran a hand down his chest. The response was immediate.

Splinter growled furiously and snapped his jaws forward in an attempt to bite her, but this behavior had been expected and Karai was mindful to keep well out of range of its mouth.

“Don’t you like that rat? I thought all animals enjoyed being pet” she mocked

Splinter ignored her and continued his struggle to attack her.

“I’m surprised rodent. I thought it was Raphael who had a temper? He must have learnt it from you”

At that Splinter grit his teeth and tried to calm his breathing.

“Where is Raphael?”

“Oh, so now you want to be civil? All that growling wasn’t very friendly, was it. I’m only treating you like the animal you are” continued Karai in a placating manner as she continued to stroke the rat, moving down from his chest.

“I suppose I can tell you” she conceded “You just need to behave. If you stop growling and snapping at me, I’ll tell you where he is”

At this Splinter felt a shudder run through him. She was asking him to cooperate, while she degraded him. Part of his mind raged at the thought, but if the Foot did have Raphael he didn’t want to endanger him by angering Karai. The only option was to keep Karai occupied so she would leave Raphael alone, if he was here at all.

On the outside Karai maintained her image of complete control, refusing to show the rat any emotion that wasn’t necessary for her plan, but internally she was glowing with triumph. Her plan was working perfectly. She knew the rat would do anything for the turtles and the idea of Raphael being her captive was enough to keep the rat under control. He would never know they hadn’t taken Raphael. It would be his turn soon enough. As expected the rat ceased his escape attempts and remained still on the examination table, though Karai could tell her prisoner was anything but pleased about it.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” she mocked, as if speaking to a small child

Splinter remained silent and tried to focus on something other than Karai and what she was doing to him. It was taking all of his will power to not lash out at the woman, but if it meant protecting Raphael it was worth it.

“Since you’re being such a good boy now” continued Karai, earning a glare from Splinter “I’ve got a present for you”

At this one of the foot soldiers who had remained still and silent until this point, passed a box to Karai. The leader of the Foot Clan made sure the box was directly in front of the rat when she opened it, and enjoyed every second of revealing the object inside to him.

“I had this made just for you. It’s important all pets have a collar, it helps them know their place” Karai smiled serenely at the rat as if she was giving him a great gift.

Splinter could only stare in horror at the thick black, leather collar in the woman’s hand. From the front of the collar hung a thick metal Foot Clan symbol, and a large hoop at the back showed where a lead or chain could be easily attached. He could not submit himself to wear the Foot Clan symbol; he would not dishonor his Master.

As Karai reached forward to put the collar around his neck, he snapped his head forwards to bite her hand, missing only by a fraction as she pulled the collar away from him once more. He continued to strain himself forwards hoping the restraints would finally give out. Karai only tutted at him and signaled for her guards to move forwards. They knew what had to be done.

One Foot soldier delivered a heavy punch to Splinters stomach while the other landed a succession of punches to his face, leaving the rat dazed. Unable to move himself, Splinter could not defend against the strikes and the Foot Soldiers gave him no time to recover as one Foot soldier clamped his jaws shut and the other produced a heavy black muzzle from inside the box Karai had earlier. Still dazed from the beating Splinter struggled to resist as the muzzle was fastened tightly around his face and secured at the back of his head.

Karai had remained emotionless throughout, and waited patiently for her soldiers to finish their task. When it was done, the Foot soldiers returned to their original post behind Karai, as the Ninja once again approached Splinter with the collar.

“I thought you were going to behave yourself?” she questioned innocently

Unable to speak, Splinter could only glare at the woman. His eyes holding a furious fire rarely seen in him, as the heavy collar was slowly placed around his neck and snapped shut, the Foot Clan symbol now hanging clearly around his neck. With the threat of being bitten by Splinter neutralized, Karai moved even closer to the rat and resumed the degrading stroking, as if he was nothing more than an animal. Slowly she lifted the Foot clan symbol hanging from the collar and twisted it around to reveal the words engraved on the other side.

“Property of the Foot Clan” she read aloud, feeling the rats muscles tense and strain against her “Mine to do with as I see fit” she whispered in his ear

Stepping back to admire her prisoner, Karai let a satisfied smile show.

“We are done for now, rat. Perhaps when I return you will have become more accepting of your place” announced Karai

“You are the Foots property now. You will not escape” she explained slowly

“We will have more fun later” promised Karai “But I have another pet to see to”

This evoked the reaction Karai had been hoping for as the rat lurched forwards once more, fury rolling off him in waves.

Splinter had never felt so angry in his life. He continued to struggle and strain as Karai and her guards turned and left the room, as far as Splinter knew they had Raphael and he couldn’t bear the thought of his son being treated as he had. He had failed though. He couldn’t escape, he had been humiliated and forced to wear the symbol of the Foot Clan, he couldn’t help Raphael.

_‘Master Yoshi, I’m so sorry. Please, protect my son’_ begged the rat silently

The only hope left was his other sons would rescue them.


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT

**Chapter 3**

Following his ‘meeting’ with Karai, Splinter had been left alone for what he guessed was several hours until she returned as promised. This time she was accompanied by a squadron of Foot soldiers who removed him from the table. Before they removed the straps, metal bands were snapped into place on each of his wrists and around his ankles. The muzzle that was still fastened around his face prevented him from attacking any of the guards, and to Splinters great humiliation a short length of chain attached to the collar around his neck forming a leash. His time on the table had left him aching and his muscles sore from straining to escape, nevertheless he attempted to fight back. Unfortunately the collar and lead complicated matters and he was jerked backwards as soon as he tried to push himself forwards, guards soon restraining him as Karai watched on.

“Escape attempts are pointless rat. Allow me to show you what your new accessories do” said Karai to the struggling rat

With that Karai signalled for her guards to release him and the group immediately backed away from him. Not willing to waste a second Splinter lunged at Karai, as he moved he suddenly found his arms and legs slammed together against his will causing Splinter to crash to the ground at Karai’s feet. From his position on the ground, the rat tried desperately to separate his arms and legs but they refused to budge.

“Those bracelets are magnetised, it only takes one flick of a switch” explained Karai, opening her hand to reveal a small remote “and they snap together”

Still Splinter writhed on the ground, despite his years of Ninja training he could feel himself beginning to panic. He was unable to open his mouth and his limbs were stuck together, once again leaving him helpless and vulnerable. One of the guards had seized hold of the lead attached to the rat and at Karai’s command had placed a foot on his back while jerking the chain upwards. Splinter was pinned to the floor while the hated collar forced his muzzled face up to see Karai’s boots. His arms were stuck together at the wrist beneath him by the metal bands and he found himself unable to move.

Karai casually crouched down beside the rat and reached a hand towards him. To Karai’s amusement and Splinters shame he found himself flinching away from her, unfortunately his current situation made it impossible for him to move out of range.

Slowly she began to pet him as if he were a nervous dog and not a human like mutant. Moving her hand from his back Karai grasped hold of the Foot emblem hanging from the front of the collar and admired it.

“You never did thank me for taking you in” started Karai as Splinter forced himself to glare at her, the urge to look anywhere else was overwhelming but he refused to show her any more weakness than he had already.

“It is to be expected I suppose. Pets don’t have the ability to thank their owners”

The emphasis placed on the words pet and owner was not lost on Splinter and the rat wanted nothing more than to attack the woman. At the very least he wanted to use his voice to prove her wrong. Pets and animals could not use words like he could; they could not disagree and Splinter wanted nothing more than to disagree.

“Obedience must be taught” continued Karai as she moved in front of the rat

Splinter raised his eyes and glared hard at her, he would not allow himself to fear her.

“Like I taught it to Raphael” she whispered

Splinters eyes grew wide as Karai revealed a hand sized piece of something hard and…green. A piece of shell. Panic rose through Splinter, followed swiftly by fury as he strained himself forwards at the woman who was antagonising him. The woman who had hurt his son.  Karai merely laughed at his attempts as she stood and casually moved back.

“I always thought Leonardo was the most like you” she pondered as more guards fell on Splinter to restrain him “but I’m beginning to think you have more in common with Raphael. Both of you have a temper and you both need to be taught your place”

Rational thought left Splinter as he struggled wildly to free himself, to cause damage, to do anything. She had hurt his son, broken off a piece of him and the evidence was lying in front of him. Yet he was powerless to act, unable to do anything that Karai did not want him to. The pressure on his neck as the guard behind him jerked on the lead reminded him of this.

“Take my pet to his new home and secure him. He will learn obedience”

At Karai's order Splinter was removed from the room he had been in since his capture and was carried though the building, accompanied by a squadron of Foot soldiers. As he was transported Splinter attempted to memorise the route and was surprised to realise he was not in the Foot HQ the Shredder had used as a base of operations, this would make it even more difficult for his other sons to rescue them. Realising it was near impossible for him to escape unaided at the moment, the rat had tried hard to sense Raphael as they travelled deeper into the building. Unfortunately for Splinter he saw no sign of any other prisoner or any activity at all really, as he was finally brought to a large door with a complicated looking lock.

One guard in front opened the complicated door, but his positioning prevented Splinter from seeing how he did it. Once inside, the sight that greeted Splinter made his heart plummet. Inside the bare room sat a single cage that had the appearance of a normal pet cage but on a much larger scale. The cage was padded with straw and Splinter was dragged inside by the two guards who had carried him. Karai's Foot soldiers were clearly better trained than her father's had been as they worked like a well-oiled machine to restrain the rat as he was placed in the cage and the lead was attached to the floor, passing through the bars of the cage and out of Splinters reach, another chain was attached to a link on the first and attached to the floor on the opposite side of the cage. The positioning of the chain made it impossible for Splinter to sit up properly and severely restricted his movements; the only way for him to move in the small cage would be by travelling on all fours like the rat he had been before his mutation.

After this was done the cage door was locked and Splinter was left alone. The rat desperately tried to separate his arms and legs again but the cuffs would not give, combined with the accursed collar and lead Splinter soon realised it was pointless. The muzzle was making his jaw ache as he had tried many times to open his mouth, and the sensation of being trapped was intensified by the inability to do so. Despite the humiliation and pain he had endured Splinter knew he had to keep fighting, if not for himself then at least for Raphael. He would make Karai pay for what she had done to them, and if she had touched Raphael the way she had him he would make sure she never touched anyone again. Forced to lie on the straw covering the cage, Splinters mind wondered to Leonardo. His eldest son had always believed she had honour, and for a time the rat had agreed there was hope for her. The actions Karai had taken against them now though, demonstrated that they were wrong. Splinter sighed internally, knowing this would hurt Leonardo, but Karai had made it clear she was as evil as her Father and willing to do things even he would not consider. Realising nothing more could be done for now, Splinter closed his eyes. Struggling constantly and a lack of nourishment had left him exhausted and he would need all of his strength to survive this.

* * *

Karai watched in amusement as her Fathers most hated enemy strained and struggled to escape his cage. When her Foot soldiers had taken the rat away, Karai had returned to her private quarters in the building they were temporarily occupying to observe her captive struggle in comfort. The room she was in was very basic and had a television screen mounted to the wall showing a live stream of the rat. Satisfaction filled Karai as she thought back to tormenting the rat. In a way the turtles, Splinter and their friends were very predictable; willing to do anything to save the other. It was this knowledge that had been the driving force behind her plan and ultimately how she would break Leonardo.

Stupid rat had taken her word that she held Raphael captive, and the shell rim she had produced as made by Foot scientists who had studied images of the turtles extensively. It was important the fake shell was convincing, she could not risk Splinter guessing it was fake. As it turns out she need not have worried. Her ‘treatment’ of the rat had clearly disturbed him to a far greater degree than she had dared to hope. His reaction to her touch had made the months of studying her enemies worthwhile. They all had weaknesses that could be exploited and she would exploit each and every one of them until they were broken, then when his family was crushed she would go for Leonardo. Simply taking his family was not enough, they would be broken. Starting with the rat had been the obvious choice. Leonardo was as devoted to his Father as Karai was to hers, breaking the rat would hurt him deeply.

Moving her attention from the screen Karai opened a large folder on her desk. Within the document information on all of Leonardo’s family and allies was available. Further in the file ideas and suggestions for torture were contained. Working with scientists, Karai had determined which torture was likely to cause the most damage to each of them and this had formed the basis of her plan. She had at first been sceptical of the plan for the rat, but the results had completely changed her mind. She knew physical torture was unlikely to affect him to a great degree but stripping him of his dignity and honour had clearly worked, no matter how much her captive tried to hide it. There was something truly intoxicating about that power, the way she had invaded the rats’ privacy had at first disgusted her. He was a filthy mutant after all. Yet now she enjoyed it. Seeing the rat flinch at her touch, the shame that shone in his eyes as he was exposed and violated had brought out something dark in her. There was something about the power she held over her helpless captive that brought her enjoyment, it was addictive in a way.

Looking back to the screen, Karai smirked as the rat lay in his cage. He was so concerned about a son she didn’t even have as captive. Truly, it was pathetic. It would be interesting to see how low the rat would sink to protect the turtle. She could see the concern in his eyes whenever she mentioned Raphael to him, she could see how weak threatening the turtle made him. All that concern going to waste. No matter, she would have Raphael in her grasps soon enough and then his concern would be justified.

Karai continued to glance over the plans to confirm what needed doing to the rat over the next few days. She also needed to send a messenger. Although the rodent wouldn’t be with her much longer, Karai was seriously considering keeping him. But no, her plan was too intricate to be changed so radically at this stage.  Keeping the rat indefinitely was not part of the plan and she would return the broken mutant to Leonardo soon, after a few adjustments were made. There was still days’ worth of fun to have with him, and when her plan was at its end maybe she could recapture the rat and keep it as a pet. Satisfied with the state of her current captive Karai turned through the folder to go over the next stages of her plan, after all Leonardo had other family members she had plans for.


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I'm still not the owner

**Chapter 4**

It had been two days since Raphael had been rescued from the rooftop and Master Splinter was taken. In those two days, the turtles had hit dead end after dead end. Leonardo knew they had done the right thing in going home to plan and fix Raphael up, even though the red masked turtle had made his disagreement known several times - rather loudly. Given the fact Raphael had seen the Foot Soldiers take Master Splinter, they all knew where he would be taken. Sitting down at the kitchen table Leonardo struggled to enjoy his cup of tea, his mind plagued by the events of the past two days.

Well they thought they knew where he would be taken. Raphael had recovered from the blood loss fairly quickly and several stitches closed the gash in his leg, despite his injury Raphael had been determined to accompany his brothers in saving their Father.

Leonardo couldn’t help but think it was partly out of guilt. As far as the blue masked turtle was concerned, Raphael was not at fault for what happened to Splinter and he knew their other brothers agreed too. Splinter would have made the same choice for any one of them, but he could understand where his brother was coming from. Knowing that Splinter had most likely been taken to the Foot tower had enabled them to plan quickly, so they were well prepared to infiltrate the building last night and retrieve their Master. Casey had accompanied them, with April hacking into the building remotely from the Battle Shell to turn off any security measures they encountered and provide a quick escape if needed.

They hadn’t made it far into the building when they realised something was amiss. As far as Leonardo was concerned they had been in the Foot building an unfortunate number of times and had a fairly decent idea of the layout, but this time everything had changed. Michelangelo had joked about Karai redecorating after the Shredder was banished, but this went beyond redecorating. The entire building was…offices. It was of course the dead of night when they had broken in, they had seen no guards and made it in with relative ease. While they all knew Shredder kept up a front as a businessman and Karai had likely taken over, they had only ever seen labs, dungeons and training rooms within the Foot Tower. They combed every inch of the building and saw no trace of Ninjas or their Father anywhere, the throne room on the top floor had been replaced by a pent house office and the dungeons had been changed into storage rooms.

Eventually they had all left the building, a deep sense of disappointment clinging to them. Leonardo thought it was nothing compared to the fear that had consumed them. They had been so certain they would find Splinter there and while the building was still linked to the Foot it was clear it only represented the legitimate business side of the group. Donatello and April had combed through the database of the company and found no trace of the Ninja side of the business, the only link to Karai at all was her name as company president.

These events had ultimately led to where they all were now. They had absolutely no idea where Splinter was, they’d seen no sign of the Foot since and no idea where to start looking for him. Raphael had torn half the lair apart in his anger, the idea of Splinter suffering to protect him had driven all rational thought from his mind while Michelangelo and Donatello were desperately searching for a lead on their missing Father. Leonardo, however, had tried to remain strong for his brothers even though he could feel the guilt threatening to overwhelm him. How had they not noticed the Foot Clan had left the building they had always used? They’d been in such a hurry to find Splinter they hadn’t stopped to look at other possible locations for him. It was a costly mistake and to Leonardo’s growing horror it was Splinter who would be suffering while they tried to find anything to go on.

The blue masked turtle had always thought there was an understanding between himself and Karai, she was free from the influence of the Shredder and yet she was still plotting against them. Leonardo felt there was good in her. That she understood honour. Now he was questioning this belief. What game was she playing by taking Splinter?

Glancing down at his now cold tea, the blue masked turtle drew on everything he had ever learnt about leadership and pushed thoughts of failure from his mind. It was time to regroup and hope that someone had managed to turn up something useful. Heading out of the Kitchen Leonardo moved into the centre of the lair, Michelangelo was flipping through news stations and had a pile of newspapers stacked around him. The orange masked turtle had been desperate to help but his lack of technical skills had hindered his ability to help Donatello and April, so they had set him up with checking the news for any hint of possible Foot activity. It was a long shot but if the Foot Clan opened so much as a new office Leonardo wanted to know about it.

“Any luck, Mike?” asked Leonardo, approaching the TV area

“There’s nothing Leo!” replied the younger turtle in exasperation “It’s like they just disappeared”

“We better hope not” growled a new voice

Leonardo had tried to ban his brother from going topside, he wasn’t willing to risk him getting captured too but Raphael had furiously refused. Eventually the red masked turtle had agreed to not go alone and so had been taking Casey or Michelangelo along with him. All of them were under strict orders from the leader to activate the distress signal as soon as they saw any sign of the Foot, from what Raphael had told them they fought differently than before and were more of a significant threat. Leonardo was therefore not willing to chance their safety by acting alone. Raphael now joined his two brothers in the TV area, the sweat pouring from the turtle indicated he had been training heavily in the Dojo. Not that Leonardo needed the clue; all his brother had done since the attack was patrol or train.

“When I get my hands on Karai, I’m gonna pay her back double for whatever she’s done to Master Splinter” snarled the red masked turtle

“Count me in bro” agreed Michelangelo “I just don’t get it though”

“You’ll need to be more specific” replied Raphael

“Haha” came the joyless reply “No really. Why take Master Splinter and not you? She could have had both of you”

“Thanks for reminding me” ground out Raphael

“She knows what he means to us” stated Leonardo simply, but he had also wondered why Raphael had been left

“If it was the actual Shredder I get why he’d be gunning for Splinter, maybe more than us. But I figured Karai would be more likely to go after Leo” continued Michelangelo

“Master Splinter is the head of our family” replied Leonardo with less certainty

“Well yeah, but you and Karai always had those epic honour battle” countered Michelangelo

“It doesn’t matter why” exploded Raphael “She took Splinter, and we need to get him back. Who knows what that crazy witch is doing to him”

“We will Raph” soothed Leonardo “Mikey has a point though. She might have taken Splinter to lure us into a trap”

“Don’t care” shrugged Raphael “I’m happy to walk straight into any trap”

“We all would Raph” replied the leader, irritation seeping into his voice

He understood why Raphael was acting like this. He was the protector, the shield, and the fact he couldn’t protect their Father hurt him more than he would probably admit. What Raphael didn’t understand was that Splinter had the exact same inclination; to protect his family.

It was the middle of the day, which unfortunately left them fairly useless above ground, the risk of exposure being too high, so Casey was currently out patrolling the streets in daylight to see if there was anything they’d missed. April had been a near constant presence in the lair but after exhausting every avenue with Donatello she had been persuaded to return to her apartment to get some rest. She had left about an hour ago with a promise to return tonight. At that point, Donatello emerged from his lab announcing his presence with a loud yawn. His body language was one of defeat, instantly warning the leader there was no good news to come.

“Sorry guys. I’ve had absolutely no luck” admitted the purple masked turtle as he joined his brothers

“Get some rest, Donnie. We will all go out tonight and scour the city again” ordered Leonardo

“We’re just going round in circles” complained Raphael

“Really nothing, Donnie?” questioned Michelangelo

“Sorry Mike. April and I have looked at any possible lead we could think of and we’ve come up completely empty. It’s like Karai has just vanished” explained Donatello

“Get some rest” repeated Leonardo “I promise, we will find him”

Too frustrated to argue, Raphael headed towards the shower “Whatever, Fearless”

As his brothers moved off to rest for tonight’s activities, Leonardo felt his leader mask slipping. He wanted to reassure his brothers but he was just as terrified as they were. It was no secret Karai had been seeking vengeance on them after Shredder was exiled. Was this it? A Father for a Father. Leonardo growled internally at the thought. The Shredder had used Karai, he cared nothing for her and she was finally free of him. Yet she insisted on defending that maniac, claiming she was honour bound to avenge him. Their Father saved people and had always acted with integrity and honour. Her Father was a murderer, who had caused mass destruction on multiple planets. Leonardo had always believed Karai had honour, but her consistent loyalty to the Shredder was showing him otherwise.

Part of him wanted to believe she wouldn’t hurt Splinter, but what other reason would she have to take him. He needed to see her himself. Perhaps he could convince her to end the vendetta against them. Leonardo only hoped he would have the chance to make her see reason, his brothers were eager to take out their anger on Karai and Raphael would not hesitate to take her down. As much as he wanted to give Karai the benefit of the doubt, his mind strayed to Splinter once more. The thought of him being hurt caused a surge of protectiveness in the leader, if Karai had hurt him she would pay. She had taken their Father and held him captive. There was no room for mercy, no matter how much Leonardo wanted to see the good in her.  

* * *

April trudged up the stairs to her apartment with a heavy heart. She had spent the best part of two days with the turtles and Casey searching for Splinter. Since they knew who had taken him, they had soon broken into Foot HQ, which had been a disappointing dead end. Having exhausted every avenue they could think of she had reluctantly agreed to go home and rest. She knew she would get no rest though. The devastated look on her friends faces when they hadn’t found Master Splinter was sure to haunt her.

Having taken just a few steps into her apartment April was snapped from her thoughts by an unexpected voice.

“April O Neil” said the intruder softly

Startled, April jumped backwards and backed into the kitchen counter. She felt her heart clench at the sight of a burly looking Foot Soldier standing by her open window. He had broken in, and if he hadn’t spoken she might still have not noticed the Ninja.

“You…what do you want?” stammered April as her heart pounded, clumsily she tried to reach for her shell cell only to remember it was in her bag which had been dropped to the floor in her fright. It now lay on the floor between her and the intruder.

 _‘Remember your Ninja lessons’_ thought April desperately

“What have you done with Splinter?” demanded April, stronger this time

“Tell the turtles they can have their rat back in 5 days’ time. If they want him, they must come here” explained the Ninja with a heavy Japanese accent

As he said this the Ninja pulled a small Knife from his pocket and flung it towards April. The woman was so shocked she didn’t have time to move, so it was fortunate he hadn’t intended to hit her with the weapon. The knife spun through the air and embedded itself in the counter an inch from where April stood; a note was attached to the handle.

As the Ninja turned to leave, April threw herself forward in an attempt to stop the intruder leaving. She wanted nothing more than for the assassin to go but it was the first Foot soldier they’d seen since Splinter had been taken and she couldn’t let the guys down. Her attempt at catching the Ninja was clearly unexpected but years of training and experience beat April’s year of training with Splinter. The Foot Soldier spun away from her before she made contact and disappeared through the window. April herself crashed to the floor where the Ninja had been moments before. She lay there dazed and distraught. Their best lead had just disappeared through her window. Shakily April scrambled towards her bag and located her shell cell. Despair filled April as she called Leonardo, if the Foot were going to give Splinter back who knew what state he would be in.


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter so far! Let me know what you think

**Chapter 5**

Feet moving swiftly but silently over the rooftops, Michelangelo pushed hard to match the pace set by Leonardo. He was usually considered the fastest turtle but his blue masked sibling was challenging that title as he charged towards April’s apartment. The four brothers had been preparing for tonight’s search when Leonardo’s shell cell had rang out in the lair, breaking the oppressive quiet that had lurked there since their Father was taken. Michelangelo and his brothers had immediately appeared at Leonardo’s side, a call could mean a lead after all.

The conversation was short and it had ended with all four turtles tearing out of the lair at break neck speed. A Foot Ninja had broken into April’s apartment; Michelangelo shuddered at the thought of their friend being in such a dangerous situation alone. Rather than harm April he had delivered a message which surprised and worried the four brothers. The Foot would give Splinter back in five days, but in what condition? Would they be collecting a corpse? Shaking his head to clear the dark thoughts, Michelangelo followed his brother across the last few rooftops to April’s apartment. In a desperate bid to catch the Foot soldier Leonardo had split them into two teams and sent them on different routes to April’s apartment, just in case any others were hanging around the area. The window to April’s apartment was already open allowing the two brothers to quickly slip into the apartment, where Donatello, Raphael and Casey were waiting with April.

“What took you so long?” grunted Raphael in greeting

“Took us so long? I think Leo was trying to set a new land speed record for turtles” wheezed Michelangelo, attempting to lighten the atmosphere

April was sat on the couch looking somewhat shaken with Casey standing to the side of her seeming unsure of what to do.

“Guys I’m so sorry” started April “I tried to stop him-“

“It’s not your fault April” cut in Leonardo, as the others all nodded in agreement

“We’re just glad he didn’t hurt you” added Donatello

“Those punks are going to pay for stepping in here in the first place” muttered Casey, looking as if he needed something to punch

“Too right” agreed Raphael darkly

“Did you get anything from the note Donnie?” questioned the leader walking over to the counter the knife had been embedded in

“No. It just has a time and a date on it as well as an address. The knife is standard Foot issue” explained Donatello, examining the knife

As his brothers examined the scene, Michelangelo flopped on to the couch next to April and threw a comforting arm around her.

“You okay” he asked softly

“I’m fine” she answered, eventually turning so the orange clad turtle could see the tears threatening to spill over “I’m just worried. I felt so helpless and Master Splinter could be…”

“Hey, don’t think like that! He’s a Ninja Master, he’s probably trying to escape right now” comforted Michelangelo as April seemed to brighten at her friend’s conviction

“Then he’ll kick shell outta Karai” added Raphael with a smirk

At that moment, Leonardo and Donatello joined the others by the couch. The leaders face a mask of calm despite the fear he surely felt.

“From what April told us and the note, the Foot will apparently return Splinter to us in five days time” stated Leonardo

“Way to state the obvious bro” said Michelangelo, eager for his brother to move past what they already knew

Choosing to ignore the youngest turtle Leonardo continued “Waiting five days is obviously out of the question. We can’t leave him in enemy hands that length of time, we have no idea if he’s injured or what Karai is doing to him”

“What do you think she’s doing to him Leo? I don’t think they’re having a tea party and talking about Japan!” added Raphael in frustration. He was wound as tightly as a coiled spring, eager to punish Karai and her minions yet the lack of direction was leaving him restless.

“Let me finish!” ground out Leonardo glaring at his siblings “We will continue to search and hope we find a lead to the Foot before then. If we don’t we will go to the meeting place in five days”

“That’s your plan!” exploded the red masked turtle, approaching his older brother “Wait and hope! He could be dead in five days”

“Unless you have some other lead you’ve kept to yourself, we have no choice! I know it’s a trap, Raph. What would you suggest? We don’t go and just forget about him?” bit back Leonardo, his composure slipping

“You really think I’d leave him there!” roared Raphael. The implication he would not walk into the obvious trap, igniting the red clad turtles temper.

“Guys, enough!” cut in Donatello, stepping between his feuding siblings. “I’ve checked the address they left, and it’s some kind of abandoned house on the edge of town. We can scope it out beforehand”

“Agreed” said Leonardo finally breaking off the staring contest with Raphael, who huffed in annoyance and moved back to the couch

“What about April? She can’t stay here with Foot goons breaking in!” interjected Casey

“She can speak for herself, Casey. Thank you very much” huffed April, in annoyance

“I didn’t mean it like that” countered Casey immediately “It’s just not safe, ya know?”

Before April could respond, Michelangelo spoke up “Casey has a point April. What if they took you too?”

The genuine concern on Michelangelo’s face froze April’s response and her heart softened.

“You should stay in the lair April” suggested Leonardo “and Casey too”

“Why me? I can look after myself” responded Casey indignantly, as April grinned at his discomfort

“Yeah, the smells in Case’s apartment would knock any intruder out” said Raphael with a smirk

“Better watch yourself, shell boy”

“Or what? Your socks gonna attack me?”

“Guys, can we please focus” complained Leonardo in exasperation, though he was pleased to see April smiling again as Raphael and Casey exchanged insults

“April and Casey will both stay with us until the Foot threat has been neutralised” announced Leonardo, leaving no room for argument “Like Donnie said, let’s check out the building and continue the search. Hopefully something will turn up”

The group murmured their agreement to the plan and began to make the necessary preparations for the nights search. Five days was a long time, and if they couldn’t find their Father before then Leonardo only hoped he wasn't too badly injured.

* * *

“Secure him” ordered Karai

Splinter felt his battered body being forced down onto a cold, metal table as his arms and legs were spread apart. Head still spinning from the beating he had just received Splinter could only watch as the metal cuffs magnetized to different notches in the table. He was lying on his front with his arms pulled out in front of him stuck to the cold table, as his legs were pulled down and attached to similar notches. The metal Foot clan symbol hanging on the collar pressed into the top of his chest, a constant reminder of his failure. From this position Splinters’ muzzled face could only see his arms in front of him and the bare wall ahead. The position left the rat feeling vulnerable but he was helpless to move.

“I’ve been far too kind to you, rat. I promised to teach you obedience and now you will learn” growled Karai in his right ear

Splinter had been alone in the cage for hours and had managed to sleep intermittently throughout that period. Foot soldiers had brought him food and water after a while – in dog bowls. The way he was chained in the cage made it impossible for him to stand, and he was forced to move around on all fours. As the food and drink were brought the metal cuffs were released so he could once again separate his arms and legs, after which the guards had left him alone. He had no doubt he was being watched, but he would not eat or drink like a dog either. He had spent the following hours attempting to escape, and had successfully removed the muzzle. The moment his hands had gone back to try and remove the collar the cuffs had magnetized again, causing him to crash painfully to the floor. This went on for several attempts until Splinter finally realized what the game was. They had allowed him to remove the muzzle so he could eat, whenever he behaved in a manner they did not want his hands and feet were magnetized again. Eventually, natural needs had overcome his defiance and he had been forced to relieve himself like an animal in the corner of the cage, he would not however cave to eating like one.

This had led him to his current predicament. Splinter assumed this was the second day of his captivity and after refusing to eat or drink for several hours guards had come and removed him from the cage. While feigning sleep, Splinter had used the metal links on the muzzle to fashion a very crude weapon and used it when the first guard approached him. His hands and feet had been snapped securely back into place before guards entered the cage, leaving the rat very limited options to attack with. He managed to slash one guard and bite another before reinforcements had beaten him into semi-conscious, a muzzle once again forced on his face. Karai had been waiting in this room with a scientist when he arrived and the look on her face was not a happy one. The squadron of Foot guards had lined one side of the room, while another man entered the room.

"You may begin now" commanded Karai, who's eyes never left Splinters

Splinter felt movement behind him as the collar around his neck was pulled upwards into his throat. The collar was suddenly tightened, cutting into Splinters neck before he felt it fasten around him; much tighter than before. Splinter felt more movement behind him, but his inability to move left him frustrated as to what was happening.

A slight hissing sound filled the silent room that made the rats blood run cold. It was a sound he often heard from Donatello's lab or Raphael in the garage.

Karai smiled at her captive, as a piece of metal was placed around the fastening on the rats collar. At her nod, the Foot scientist lowered the miniature blow torch on the metal, heating it until it melted around the fastening, effectively sealing the collar shut. There was of course another purpose to this exercise, and Karai was determined to not miss a second of it. The rats’ eyes had widened in alarm at the sound of the blow torch, and Karai watched his expression shift from alarm to pain as the metal heated.

Splinter writhed as much as he could on the table, unable to escape the agonizing burning at the back of his neck. What had actually lasted minutes felt a lot longer to the mutant rat, until it was finally done and the heat began to die down, leaving the rat with a burning pain where the newly welded clasp touched him.

"I couldn't risk you removing your collar, could I?"

Staring into the rats eyes, Karai saw the pure loathing lying there. She knew if he were free he would happily kill her. She was annoyed with herself however. She thought the rat was quite broken, and yet it had managed to fashion a weapon and attack the guards. That was an oversight on her part. A reminder; don’t underestimate the enemy. It was of little concern however, what was about to happen would truly break him.

“Now that matter is taken care of, it’s important we move forward with your obedience training. You injured some of my guards and you will be punished for that. Any and all transgressions will be noted and payback will be distributed upon you in due course” explained Karai

As Karai droned on, Splinter found himself tuning her out. It was becoming increasingly clear to the rat she was deranged. The exile of the shredder had obviously snapped whatever thread of sanity she was clinging on to. His head pounded from being beaten by the guards and the back of his neck felt burnt from where the collar had been welded shut. Absently his mind wandered to Raphael, at least if he caused problems for Karai her attention was on him and not his son. The thought of Karai near any of his sons caused Splinter to panic, particularly when she was using such vile methods.

A sharp slap to the face brought Splinter back to the present

“Are you listening rodent?”

It wasn’t like Splinter to let his mind wander, perhaps it was the tiredness and hunger getting to him.

“If you are not interested in what I have to say, perhaps Raphael will be” suggested Karai

At that Splinter snapped back to the present and turned an icy glare to Karai, the Foot Clan leader could see the panic her words had caused the rat.

“If you want to protect Raphael you will have to be obedient, won’t you?” she continued “I will therefore give you a chance to prove your loyalty”

Splinter looked warily at Karai, he would do anything to protect his son from this woman but what exactly would she want. Splinter once again felt a flare of hatred towards the muzzle, his jaw ached and he desperately wanted to tell this woman exactly how deluded she was. Perhaps not being able to speak his mind in this case was an advantage. It was probably better to not provoke a deranged Ninja with a sadistic streak, while at said Ninjas mercy.

“You will act like the animal you are. You will not speak. You will walk like a rat, eat like a rat and do everything I tell you without hesitation” commanded Karai “failure to comply immediately will result in me taking retribution on Raphael”

At this Splinter froze. Could he really go along with whatever Karai wanted? He would have to, decided Splinter. No matter how humiliating or degrading he found it. To protect Raphael it would be worth it.

Seeing the fight drain out of her captive, Karai struggled to maintain her composure. If only her Father could see this, his most hated enemy under her control. Powerless to resist; completely at her mercy. Not that he would receive mercy. The rat and his turtles had shattered her world and she would enjoy every second of destroying theirs.

“You will lie still and not move, do not speak” she ordered, reaching down to remove the rats muzzle.

Once that was removed she pressed a button under the examination table, breaking the magnetized connection between the cuffs and the table, effectively freeing her captive. Standing to side of the rat, Karai let a small satisfied smile show. As she had instructed the rat just lay there. Now to test him. In case the rat did decide to fight back she had the remote in her pocket to lock its limbs together, and a trusted Foot guard had another in case she was attacked.

Reaching forwards Karai stroked the rats back, feeling him tense but not move beneath her touch. As expected, the stupid mutant would not risk her hurting Raphael. He clearly believed she had him prisoner as well.

Pushing the test of obedience further, Karai placed her right hand between the Splinters front and the table. She began to dig her hands further into the coarse fur, continuously watching for a reaction from the rat. Still he remained unmoving, despite the tension in his muscles and obvious unease.

Pleased with the results so far, Karai leaned down to whisper in the rats ear her roaming hand going lower

“Impressive. You’re clearly learning your place, my pet. Just how far will you go to protect the turtle, I wonder”

Getting no response, Karai moved towards her goal. She felt the rat shudder slightly as she invaded his private area but she continued to press forwards, her hand prodding and exploring freely. While her left hand stroked the rats back.

“Good boy” mocked Karai “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Removing her hands Karai accepted the lead from one of the guards who had been silently observing the whole thing. The scientist, who had fixed the collar, had been furiously making notes throughout the exchange. Every reaction of the rat had been observed and noted.

Attaching the lead to the collar, Karai moved to stand in front of the rat.

“Come. We are going for a walk” she announced.

Locking eyes with Splinter, the room froze for a heartbeat before Splinter stood shakily on all fours on the table. Giving the chain a sharp jerk she led the rat from the room. Karai’s heart soared in triumph, the mutant was a reluctant but obedient pet. Guards followed after them in case the rat had a change of heart, but Karai knew it was unnecessary. As long as the threat of hurting the turtle hung over him, Splinter would comply. Truly pathetic.


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I've uploaded all the chapters I posted over at Fanfiction.net so the next chapter of this story will be out at the weekend and I'll post it on both sites! Thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts

**Chapter 6**

Karai smiled in contentment watching the screen in her quarters. The past five days had been spent 'training' her prisoner, all of which had proven to be successful. The rat had become completely obedient to her, and had only attempted to escape twice. Karai knew the rat would not leave without Raphael and after each escape attempt she had reinforced her power over him. Stupid rat; so easily fooled by fake pieces of shell and a strip of green skin. Whenever Karai thought the rat was considering escape, the threat of her attention being turned to Raphael ensured his compliance. She had taken it as far as forcing the rat to bow to her, so she would not hurt the turtle. Karai liked to think her Father would be proud. Everything she did now was to honour him; to avenge him.

The plan had worked better than Karai had ever hoped; even now she watched the rat on her screen walk like the animal he was and eat from the bowl. Sadly, this stage of her plan was at its end, and the rat had served his purpose. Tonight he would be returned to the turtles, which gave her the rest of the day to truly break him.

Leaving the room, Karai summoned her guards and moved towards the room that contained the rat’s cage. This base of operations would be finished with tonight and all trace of the Foot would be gone before the turtles set foot in here. Approaching the door, a guard quickly tapped in the necessary code allowing his leader into the room.

Maintaining a commanding presence, Karai strode to the cage with purpose.

"Good morning, pet" she called

As he had been trained to, Splinter turned towards Karai and sat at the front of the cage, his eyes downcast. The rats lead was still attached to the floor beyond the cage, although it was unnecessary at this point, his compliance was assured.

Crouching in front of him, Karai immediately reached a hand through the cage running her hand all over her captive. This was one of the most satisfying outcomes for Karai. No matter how she touched him now, the rat offered no resistance; too afraid of endangering his son.

"There are many things to be done today, rat. We can waste no time"

Opening the cage door, two guards entered and unfastened Splinters collar from the chains and then reattached it to a shorter lead which was handed to Karai. Giving the chain a small tug, Splinter left the cage on all fours without protest. Karai had noticed his movement was poor when walking like this, most likely due to his age and past injuries. It was no concern for her though; she was almost finished with him.

Accompanied by four guards, Splinter followed Karai down the winding corridors to the same room he had been in several days ago.

"Get on the table and lie on your back" commanded Karai, gesturing to the metal table he had awoken on days before. The guards followed them into the room, where the scientist from the other day also waited. Without question, Splinter did as he was told. The guards moved his arms and legs so they were spread away from him and the metal cuffs clicked in to grooves on the table, effectively immobilising him. The lead from his collar was also removed, yet the collar itself was also clipped into place on the table, preventing him from moving his head.

Seeing her captive was completely restrained, Karai decided it was time to end the illusion the rat had held for a week now.

"I have very much enjoyed the past week rat. Breaking my Fathers most hated enemy has been most pleasing" she started, seeing no emotion from the rat

Moving closer to him, she lifted the Foot symbol hanging from his collar "Of course I know you only complied to protect Raphael. Did the thought of protecting the freak make it all seem worth it?"

Signalling to a guard, a TV monitor was rolled from across the room to directly in front of Splinter.

"I believe it is time to shatter that illusion" said Karai with a cold smile. At that a video played across the screen, showing the night Splinter had been captured.

Splinter could only stare at the screen as the video showed the Foot guards leave Raphael in chains on the roof. Nothing happened for a while and Karai wound forwards in silence, until something on the video changed.

His sons. The video clearly showed Leonardo, Donatello and Michelangelo rescuing their brother and leaving the rooftop. At that point the video monitor turned blank, and it was removed from Splinters view. In its place Karai walked forwards a piece of shell in her hands.

"It is quite amazing what science can do. It has the capacity to produce very realistic imitations" said Karai with a sadistic smile

It took Splinter a moment to process this. He had been tricked. This woman who had forced his compliance in her twisted game had never had Raphael captive. He had allowed her to degrade and humiliate him. He thought he was protecting his son.

"You vile witch" breathed Splinter, his voice raspy and quiet from lack of use

"That is good. I thought you may have completely regressed to an animal, going so long in silence"

"I will kill you" threatened the rat, his voice barely above a whisper

"I think not" replied Karai in a bored tone "you're being given back to your wretched sons tonight. Your purpose has been served"

Splinters eyes shone with fury, as he forced his tired body to fight back. Every time he had conceded to Karai it had been to protect his son, no matter how much it hurt him. Now red hot rage burned through his body, as well as a sense of shame.

"There are a few final things to be done before you are returned, rat" continued Karai, ignoring the rats futile struggle "You may begin now"

At that the scientist in the room approached Splinter pulling a small cart with him. A guard also accompanied the scientist and grabbed Splinters left forearm, rotating it swiftly until the metal cuff clicked into a new place on the table, leaving the rats left arm facing palm up.

Standing to the side of the table the scientist wasted no time in grabbing a pair of clippers and lowering it to Splinters exposed arm.

"What are you doing?" growled Splinter as he continued to struggle, the restraints not budging at all.

The scientist paid him no heed and the fur on Splinters inner arm was soon shaved off from below his elbow to the metal cuff covering his wrist.

Karai watched this with polite interest. Her eyes focused solely on the rat and his reaction.

"I thought it fitting to give you a more permanent reminder of our time together" she explained, watching Splinters expression change from anger to panic as the scientist raised a tattoo gun to his arm.

It took 30 minutes for the inking to be done; Karai had instructed the scientist to go slowly after all. During this time the rat continued his struggle to escape, occasionally cursing her in Japanese but he was ultimately powerless to stop the Foot Clan symbol being permanently inked on his arm. Beneath the Foot Clan symbol the Japanese kanji for servant was also added in black ink. Throughout that time Karai had watched her prisoner wear himself out through struggling until he was left panting on the table, jaw clenched shut against the pain of the marking.

At some point Splinter had accepted this was being done to him, regardless of how much he fought back and had shut his eyes while trying to catch his breath. He could not stand to watch the needles marking him; branding him forever with what had happened here. When the deed was done, the Foot scientist wheeled away the cart and re-joined the Foot guards lining the room.

Moving closer to the rat, Karai inspected the marking.

“This shows who you belong to” she explained cheerfully, indicating the Foot symbol “and this demonstrates you are nothing more than a servant” pointing to the Kanji underneath

“I do not belong to you” muttered Splinter, his escape efforts leaving him exhausted

“That is where you are wrong” breathed Karai, demonstrating her point by invading his privacy once again. This was the last chance she would get to touch the rat and she was determined to degrade him as much as possible. He was nothing more than a mutant freak, an animal. Now, she had taught him his place.

Enjoying the rat for a few minutes longer Karai stepped back and sighed.

“When capturing you and while imprisoned here, you harmed a number of my guards. I promised there would be retribution, and now it will come to you”

With that several guards fell on Splinter and removed him from the table, despite his attempts to fight back. A week in captivity had left him weakened and Karai’s Foot soldiers were much more disciplined than the Shredders had been, with practiced ease Splinter was removed from the table and carried into the next room. Upon entering the room, Splinter saw that at least twenty Foot soldiers lined the sides. Carried to the centre of the room Splinters arms were chained by the metal cuffs above his head and his feet were secured to the floor by much shorter chains.

Karai entered the room as this was going on.

“Within this room is every member of the Foot you injured within the last week. They have my full position to exact their revenge upon you” explained Karai, smirking at Splinter who hung loosely in the restraints

Turning her attention to the Foot Soldiers present, she continued “Anything is permissible so long as the rat is still alive when I return”

“Hai, Mistress” chorused the Foot soldiers bowing deeply to her as she walked towards the door.

The Foot soldiers arranged themselves into an orderly line as the door shut after Karai and she heard a pained grunt from the room as the first Ninja took his revenge on the rat.

She would return in a couple of hours to ensure the rat was still alive, but for now she had arrangements to make. Phase one was at its end; phase two began tonight.

* * *

It had been five days since the message was left at April’s apartment, and despite searching every night and day they’d found no trace of the Foot, Karai or Splinter. Raphael was not a happy turtle. His siblings may argue he had never been a happy turtle, but the past week had worn down what little patience he did possess and left him feeling restless and angry. Since the Foot Ninja had broken into April’s apartment, both her and Casey had been staying in the lair causing Raphael’s already short temper to shorten further. The frustration of finding no trace of Master Splinter had hit all of them hard, which was why they now found themselves in the battle shell with no choice but to go to the meeting place tonight.

They had already scoped the place out multiple times and Donatello had wanted to hide cameras there so they could monitor the building. The argument over it had become very heated. Ultimately Leonardo had decided not to, in case the Foot discovered them and kept Splinter. To Raphael this seemed overly paranoid even by his eldest brothers’ standard. If the Foot were going to just hand over Splinter it was for one of two reasons. They will have either tortured him to near death or it was a trap. The red masked turtle had sided with Donatello and April and even Casey, against Leo and Mike, but the leader had been adamant his decision would stand. Michelangelo had only supported Leonardo because his brothers concern of scaring the Foot off had worried him as well.

Tonight’s plan involved Leonardo and Donatello going in to retrieve their Father, while Raphael and Michelangelo secured the building. April and Casey were going to stay in the battle shell as back up and a quick escape. The red masked turtle glanced around the vehicle as they approached the building. Their leader was currently sat in meditation while April and Donatello arranged medical supplies, Michelangelo was being uncharacteristically quiet even though the repetitive tapping of his hand betrayed his nerves.

"Park up here Casey" said Leonardo, disturbing the silence

"Sure thing, boss" replied Casey, clearly still annoyed at his side-lined role

The building itself was a little further away and had been abandoned for years. They had visited the building before the meeting tonight and all four brothers had a pretty good idea of the layout including possible entrances and exits. Raphael thought it was a weird place to meet them at. He expected something more like an abandoned warehouse, an old house in the middle of nowhere just seemed strange.

The battle shell pulled up about a 5 minute walk away from the house into a small section of woodland covered by trees. At this point, Raphael was antsy to get going. Something about this didn’t sit right with the red banded terrapin and the sooner they got Master Splinter back the better. If they got him back that is.

“Is everyone clear on the plan?” questioned Leonardo glancing around at every team member in turn

“No, I wasn’t listening the first 10 times” grouched Raphael, casually twirling a Sai in his left hand

“We got it, Leo” answered April before the turtles could start an argument

“We get Master Splinter and get out. This is not a revenge mission” reiterated the leader looking particularly at Raphael

“Leo we should get going, the note said to meet at 9pm” cut in Donatello

“Right” agreed Leonardo

With that the four turtles left the battle shell and travelled silently towards the building. Each of them hoping in their own way Splinter was alive and well, despite the odds against that possibility.


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments guys! Next chapter will probably be out next week, thanks for reading!

**Chapter 7**

Just outside the building Raphael and Michelangelo peeled off to take up their positions. Each of them were to scale the building and maintain watch. The positions they were in allowed both turtles easy access into the building if needed.

Seeing two of his brothers leave to take up their positions, Leonardo turned to his purple masked sibling.

“I don’t like this” whispered Leonardo

“We had no choice Leo. We’ve been looking for a week and found nothing” replied Donatello

With that they made their way into the building, noting the eerie silence that followed them. The house itself was falling apart with wallpaper peeling off and cobwebs covering everything in sight. From first impressions nothing in the building seemed to have been touched since they last visited, except it was now dimly lit by small candles placed around the area. Moving into the main room of the house Leonardo evaluated everything he saw, his keen eyes searching for signs of movement.

"I don't think anyone is here Leo" whispered Donatello, sliding past the leader and further into the room.

Aside from some very dusty furniture the main room was sparsely decorated, and didn't provide many places for Ninjas to hide. Donatello was wearing a head set so he could keep in contact with his brother's on the outside of the building; Leonardo had opted not to wear a head set. His reasoning had been based around not giving the Foot any reason to think they would be ambushed, he wanted nothing to jeopardise getting Splinter back. On this occasion everyone else had gone against him, to Donatello it was vital they could communicate with the others. The purple masked turtle knew his elder brother hoped this would be resolved peacefully. Leonardo had always had some kind of connection with Karai and Donatello knew some small, irrational part of his brother hoped she hadn't hurt Splinter. He could see the conflict in the leader as they prepared for the mission and Donatello suspected it was why his more emotional brothers had been sent to play lookout.

If Master Splinter had been hurt, Raphael would go after Karai and Michelangelo would surely follow his example. As far as Donatello was concerned, Leonardo was taking a huge risk. The Foot were trained differently by all accounts; more professional and ruthless. Four turtles would surely stand more of a chance against them and yet their force had been separated. He had argued with his eldest brother about surveillance cameras and his idea had been vetoed, all for the sake of not scaring the Foot out of the arrangement. As he explored the room, Donatello watched the leader do the same. He was with Leonardo tonight because his brother thought he was too rational to turn murderous on Karai, and believed he would follow his orders without question. Normally he would, but Leonardo had a blind spot when it came to Karai. He wanted so badly to see the good in her, and Donatello knew that if she had injured their Father it would crush him.

Crouching down to examine the fireplace, Donatello thought it was pointless. Karai had held Splinter hostage for a week now, and it was almost a given she would have hurt him. Leonardo had given Karai a lot of chances, but Donatello would give her no more. By hurting their Father she was hurting them and Donatello suspected she really wanted to hurt his blue masked sibling. It was time the threat of Karai was dealt with, particularly if she was turning the Foot more ruthless than they were under the Shredder. A pang of sympathy went through Donatello as he looked at his brother, the past week had been hard on all of them but Leonardo seemed to have aged considerably.

Turning his attention back to the fireplace, Donatello couldn't help but think something about it seemed strange. The rest of the room and house was decrepit, and yet the fireplace looked recently used.

"Leo" called Donatello softly

The leader instantly materialised at his side, his face a mask of stoicism.

"This fireplace has been used recently, and there's something odd about the coals" noted Donatello, leaning over the fireplace

"Ok" said Leonardo, waiting for his genius brother to explain the significance

"Maybe if we light it..."

"That could be dangerous, Donnie. What if it’s a trap?"

"In the fireplace?" scoffed Donatello, he had already checked the connections and saw nothing unusual

"Ok, fine" huffed Leonardo, glancing around the room as if expecting the Foot to suddenly materialise

It was a gas fire, and it took Donatello only a few moments of fiddling with it before the coals lit up. When lit it became obvious the fireplace was not a trap but a message. A single word written in Kanji was illuminated by the glowing coals; basement.

"So they want us to go to the basement" muttered Leonardo

"It would appear so" agreed Donatello nodding slightly

Reaching for his head set to inform their brother's a forest green hand stopped him.

"They need to know Leo, this is clearly a trap" said Donatello with a hint of annoyance

"Which is why it’s better if they're on the outside" replied the leader after a moment's hesitation

Moving from his position next to the fireplace, Donatello met his brother's eyes.

"Protecting Splinter is our priority" stated Donatello, watching the leaders’ reaction carefully

At that Leonardo bristled "You think I don't know that?"

"I'm only checking" replied Donatello "you've shown Karai a lot of mercy in the past"

"If she has hurt my Father. Our father. I won't hesitate, I thought you knew that" growled Leonardo

Donatello merely nodded and followed his brother as he moved swiftly into the hallway. They had studied plans for the building before coming here and they were aware of the basement. It was only accessible by a trap door in the kitchen and on their last visit here they had detected nothing unusual about it. One way in, one way out. At least based on the building schematics they had been able to find for the old house, which were quite out of date. As silent as a ghost, the brothers made their way to the kitchen and Leonardo wordlessly moved to open the trap door. Watching Leonardo fiddle with the rusted catch, Donatello couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong. Well, more wrong. The basement was only a small room. Hardly enough space to store a Foot Ninja troop preparing for ambush.

“Got it” breathed Leonardo, lifting the old wooden planks that formed the entrance to the basement

With that Leonardo dropped down into the basement, Donatello following closely behind. Having been trained as Ninjas their whole lives, both turtles had developed a keen sense for their surroundings, and Donatello's was telling him the basement was empty. Although it was empty, the single light that illuminated the room demonstrated someone had been here.

"They're treating this like some kind of scavenger hunt" complained Leonardo, tiring of the Foots game

"We should look for a clue then" replied Donatello simply

During their reconnaissance mission, the brothers had made sure to explore every inch of the building and the basement had seemed perfectly ordinary. It was mostly empty save for a few boxes in one corner. It was this corner that drew Donatello's attention. Moving closer to the pile of boxes, Donatello began to move them away from the corner. While exploring the basement he had noticed the flooring seemed very solid except in the corner hidden by the boxes.

"Leo, help me move the boxes" said Donatello, his blue masked brother quick to assist him

A minute later, the boxes were moved to reveal floorboards which seemed no different to the rest of the room in appearance, but Donatello was certain this was the clue. Leaning down, Donatello began to prise the board's up, feeling them give easily under the light pressure he used.

"Donnie, what are you doing" questioned the leader, watching on in confusion

"The floor is solid everywhere else in the room, except here. This area was solid the other day too, it’s the only thing in the room that's changed" explained the purple masked turtle, continuing prise up boards until a medium sized hole was visible. When the boards were moved it became clear that the house was situated on an underground base of some sort. The floorboards easily hid the steel roof of the underground level, and where Donatello had removed the floorboards a hatch was open allowing access to this base.

"How did we miss this?" muttered Leonardo darkly

"The hatch was probably shut when we came here the other day, making the floor solid. I only noticed now because the floor felt different over here" replied Donatello, who was now peering into the hatch.

"Let’s go" declared the leader moving forwards to go through the hatch

"We really should tell the others. This is a trap and we all know it" reminded Donatello

"We have no time to waste. We go now"

"You're not thinking clearly"

"Call the others then, I'm going" snapped the leader before climbing through the hatch and dropping into the darkness below.

With a small sigh, Donatello dropped through the hatch after his brother. He only hoped they all made it out of here and got Master Splinter to safety.

The dusty atmosphere of the house was soon left behind as both brothers dropped into the darkness of the underground level. A soft click could be heard, and Donatello realised the hatch they had entered through had just been closed, effectively trapping them in the base. His fears were confirmed a moment later when a light flickered on and illuminated the room they were in. The room wasn't large and was completely empty aside from a large TV screen mounted on the right wall. A single door was the only other entrance and exit to the room; which Donatello assumed was locked. Leonardo had moved forwards in the room and was heading towards the door, which did not budge as he attempted to open it.

Glancing at his brother, Donatello felt his annoyance with the leader slip away. He was the same age as they were, he had a lot of responsibility and Donatello knew the burden it placed on him. Leonardo was starting to look guilty about not listening to his advice and calling the others. Before the purple masked turtle had a chance to say anything, the TV screen crackled into life. The smug face of Karai stared out from the screen, instantly catching both turtles attention and provoking their anger.

"Karai" growled Leonardo "where’s Splinter?"

"Patience, Leonardo. I have upheld my end of the arrangement. Your rat is being handed over to your human friends as we speak"

A flash of panic went through Donatello at the thought of the Foot approaching April and Casey. They had left them in the battle shell what they considered a safe distance from the house.

"Then let us out" demanded Leonardo

"Yes, you two are free to go" agreed Karai, the hatch they entered through reopening as she spoke

The two turtles glanced at each other. This seemed too easy.

"Or you can retrieve your other brothers. I found them outside and decided it would be better if they joined us"

"Where are they?" shouted Leonardo, storming closer to the screen

"No need for unpleasantness Leonardo" purred Karai, a mocking smile on her face

"This is a game to you isn't it" stated Donatello, his mind whirring with ideas to break the door down as he spoke

"Nonsense" scoffed Karai "I am merely doing what is needed to avenge my Father. It is a matter of honour"

"You still claim to have honour" challenged the leader

"You are the one who knows nothing of honour Leonardo. You do not understand what your actions have cost me, so I will make you understand"

Donatello listened to the conversation with growing horror. For all intents and purposes he might as well be invisible. The realization came to Donatello that Karai’s game was all about hurting his eldest brother, the rest of them were just pawns she was using to hurt him.

"I know you came here after the note was sent. How does it feel to know your precious rat was underneath your feet the whole time? Perhaps if you'd searched harder, you might have found him and he wouldn't have been at my feet for a week" mocked Karai

"How dare you speak of him like that" retorted Leonardo, who was rapidly losing his composure

Donatello could understand though. The idea of Splinter being so close the whole time brought on a wave of guilt in the purple masked turtle; he could only imagine how deeply Leonardo was blaming himself. They had checked the schematics for the building closely; there was nothing to indicate this level existed.

“I would love to stay and chat Leonardo, but my use for this base is at an end” said Karai “I will give you a chance to save your brothers before the building is disposed of”

With that, Karai’s face disappeared from the screen and was replaced with a map. The map showed two red dots at opposite ends of the base. Donatello was surprised at how complex the base was, the map showing a multitude of corridors and rooms.

“You have seven minutes to retrieve your brothers and get out. The only exit available to you is the way you came in” narrated Karai as Donatello studied the map

Leonardo had his hands on the handles of his Katana and in that moment seemed lost. His focus was also on the map, but Donatello could tell he was struggling to control himself.

“Your time starts now” sang Karai’s voice, the map disappearing on screen to be replaced with a timer counting down from seven. The door that wouldn’t open before, clicked open now revealing a labyrinth of tunnels that lay beyond it

“Enough of these games!” roared Leonardo at the screen. The voice of Karai did not return.

“Leo, we’ll need to split up” said Donatello, dragging his brother back to the crisis at hand

“You go for the spot closest to here” commanded Leonardo reluctantly “and you both get out of the building and to the battle shell. Do not wait for me, understood?”

Donatello merely nodded, he had noticed one of their brothers was located closer to their current location and Leonardo sending him there was hardly surprising.

“We get them and get out” reiterated Leonardo moving towards the door with speed.

They had six and half minutes remaining to get their brothers and get out, using a map they’d had a minute to memorise. Donatello couldn’t help but think the task seemed impossible.


	9. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the people who have left comments and everyone who has been reading this story! Enjoy chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Casey Jones was not a patient man. He liked to think that fact was well known, but the turtles decision to leave him on guard duty in the battle shell made him wonder. April was currently rechecking their medical supplies like she had every five minutes for the past half hour, stopping long enough to stare at her shell cell in between. Casey was the designated driver of tonight's excursion and was growing increasingly restless while waiting to hear from their friends, leading him to sprawl out across the front seats turning a baseball bat in his hands continuously.

"Shouldn't they be back now?" pondered April for the third time

"I can go check on them" offered Casey with enthusiasm; his previous offers had been quickly rejected by the red head. This time she seemed to be wavering.

"They could need help" added Casey

"Maybe you should..." said April warring with indecision "just have a quick look and don't get lost"

"Sure thing, Ma" teased Casey, quickly getting to his feet and shouldering the bag that carried his assortment of weapons.

While Casey's joke would have normally been returned with a quick witted reply, April seemed lost in thought as her hands fiddled with the shell cell aimlessly. Donatello had said he would call when they had Splinter and were in the clear, so the silence of the phone indicated at least one of those things hadn't happened.

"Just chill babe, I'm gonna get the guys and we can all get outta here" promised Casey, flashing April a sincere smile

"Don't call me babe" smirked April "and don't get into trouble"

Rolling his eyes slightly, Casey threw open the back doors of the battle shell. The sight that met Casey sent him stumbling backwards in surprise while April shrieked and jumped to her feet. Regaining his footing, Casey grabbed a hockey stick from his bag and launched himself forwards. Outside of the battle shell stood at least 15 Foot Soldiers forming three perfect rows. All of them seemed identical in their uniform and were stood in perfect silence, there was no way of knowing how long they had been like that. The Ninjas seemed to blend into the darkness of the night, with a stillness that matched the trees surrounding them.

Casey swung the hockey stick downwards towards the head of the first ninja he came to, the shock of being surrounded fuelling his anger. A soft rustling broke the silence and within a heart beat the Ninja had drawn his sword and neatly sliced the hockey stick in half. Leaving Casey clutching the handle directly in front of the Ninja he had tried to attack.

"What the..." muttered Casey in astonishment

The Ninja Casey had been aiming for broke ranks to move forwards, heading to the open back of the battle shell. Two others followed his lead and began to scrap with Casey. As the first Ninja approached the truck, a shuriken flew out of the back towards his face. This was caught with practiced ease, and the Ninja peered into the van to see April armed with a single sword. The point trembled slightly, but the woman glared angrily at the intruder. Within this time, Casey had been subdued by the two Ninja despite his best attempts and each now held an arm, twisting them painfully behind his back. Casey was on his knees and threatening the Foot soldiers loudly. The remaining Foot had yet to move and continued to stare at the battle shell.

The first Ninja stopped at the entrance to the van, and addressed April.

"We have come to return the rat" spoke the soldier slowly, his Japanese accent heavy

At that, two Foot soldiers from the back stepped forwards, the others parting to leave them a clear path. April nearly dropped the sword she held in terror as the battered form of Splinter was dragged towards her and dumped at the entrance to the van.

"Now we leave" said the soldier who swiftly dropped a smoke bomb, covering the area in thick smoke. When it cleared all of the Ninja had gone and Casey was on his hands and knees in the grass. April hesitated only a second before darting towards Splinter. He had been left in a heap on the grass in front of the van, and April was sure she was looking at a corpse.

"Casey, help me" called April desperately as she reached towards Splinter

As soon as her hand touched him the rat jerked violently away from her, not having the strength to move beyond that he lay in a groaning heap.

Casey scrambled forwards to April and Splinter. April's eyes welled with tears, and Casey bit back a growl at the injuries which could be seen in the dim light from the van.

"Splinter its ok, it’s me and Casey" soothed April "we need to get you in the van"

Getting no response, April glanced at Casey. He would need to lift splinter into the van, but April was worried about hurting him further. The rat remained on his side facing away from them, eyes clenched shut as he lay curled in a ball. April needed better light to examine him, and she needed Donnie but if Splinter was here, what had happened to the turtles?

* * *

Leonardo sprinted through the winding corridors of the Foot base, desperately he tried to recall the map he had fleetingly seen. It had been about a minute since splitting up with Donatello. He had sent his purple masked brother to free the brother closest to the exit, while Leonardo charged deeper into the base. Twisting and turning through the identical corridors, anger fuelled the turtle as he slammed open each door he came to. He was angry with Karai but he was also angry with himself for having any level of trust in her. This was all a game to her. She had set them targets, pressed start on the timer and watched them race off to rescue their brothers. All of the doors in the base were unlocked which saved Leonardo time. He had a good idea of where he was going but the repetitive design of the building was throwing him, and he had already opened several wrong doors. Turning sharply to the right, the leader ran into a dead end with a single door. Wasting no time, Leonardo pushed into the room.

In the middle of the room was a large version of a pet’s cage complete with straw covering the ground. Momentarily stunned, the blue clad turtle found he was unable to move.

 _‘Is this where they kept Splinter?’_ He thought

Taking one last glance around the room, Leonardo ran back the way he had come before branching off down another corridor. He knew he was close; it was just finding the right door and getting out of here.

Seeing another identical door in front of him, the leader hastily pushed into the room. The sight that met him stopped him in his tracks, however. Raphael was tied securely to a chair in the centre of the bland room, a piece of duct tape preventing him from speaking. His twin Sai lying on the floor across the room. The chair Raphael was secured to faced a TV screen mounted to the wall. What drew Leonardo’s attention were the tears steadily streaming down his red masked brothers face. Silently following his gaze, Leonardo felt his blood run cold at the video playing on the screen. Every inch of Leonardo wanted to tear his gaze from the screen, but he found himself unable to move from the spot.

The screen was showing a video of Karai torturing their Father. It had been edited together like a film and showed the woman Leonardo had once trusted, degrading and humiliating Splinter. Numbly, the blue masked turtle noticed the audio that accompanied the video. Finally Leonardo pulled himself back to the situation at hand and cursed himself for wasting time. Quickly, he approached Raphael who was shuddering and straining against the restraints. The blue masked turtle could practically feel the emotions radiating from his brother.

"Raph, we need to go" said Leonardo trying to get his brother's attention. When he received no acknowledgement, the leader quickly removed the duct tape and drew his Katana. A few swipes later and the restraints fell away from the red masked turtle, but still he sat there shuddering; his eyes never leaving the screen.

Leonardo's internal clock told him they only had about two and a half minutes left to clear the building; hopefully their brother's had already left. The blue banded turtle felt physically sick at what he had seen on the screen, he couldn't bear to watch it and understood why Raphael was so upset. He was upset too, but they couldn't afford to waste any more time. Revenge would come, but only when they were all safe.

"Raph, come on..." started Leonardo softly

"I'm gonna kill her Leo" growled Raphael, emotion thick in his voice

"We need to leave, this place is a trap. A timer is counting down until this whole building explodes" explained the leader quickly

Finally, Raphael tore his eyes from the screen. His mask was damp from where the tears had escaped. Standing from the chair, Raphael nodded his understanding to his brother.

"Mikey and Donnie should be outside by now"

"Where's Splinter?" asked Raphael, as they moved towards the corridor

"Karai said her Foot soldiers were handing him over to April and Casey. They were waiting in the battle shell a bit further out from the house" explained Leonardo reluctantly. As expected, the red clad turtle ignited at the mention of Karai.

"How do you know he's not still here?" asked Raphael in a panic. They had started running through the base towards the entrance Leonardo and Donatello had come through, but the knowledge none of them had actually seen their Father stopped Raphael. He would not risk leaving him behind.

"Raph, come on! Donnie and I have run all over the place looking for you and Mike, there is nobody in the building"

Desperation seeped into Leonardo’s’ voice as he tried to pull his stubborn brother along. They were running out of time.

Raphael hesitated for a moment longer before he turned his back on the base and followed his brother. Both turtles sprinted full force through the winding corridors, Leonardo trying to remember the route back. Whilst running he had shouted out loud to their other brothers in case they were still inside, but they heard no response. Since entering the underground level of the house, their shell cells had stopped working and the headsets were also rendered useless. Leonardo wished he had a way of knowing his brother's had made it out, but there was no time to search for them.

Finally seeing the room they entered the base from Leonardo threw himself upwards towards the hatch, Raphael a step behind him. Both turtles blazed out of the basement and were just at the front door when the first explosion rocked the building. Continuing to race forwards, the brothers made it to several paces outside the house when it fully exploded. The force of the blast pushed both turtles forwards, sending them sprawling in the grass. The heat from the explosion seared over them as the house burned and collapsed.

Panting heavily, Leonardo glanced around to find his younger brother lying on the grass a few feet away. Satisfied that neither of them was injured beyond a few scrapes, the blue masked turtle forced himself to stand, Raphael swiftly joining him. They had to get to the battle shell. Nothing would satisfy the leader until he saw his other brothers and Splinter. The battle shell was about ten minutes out from the house, and both turtles sprinted through the woodland towards it.

The thought of seeing Splinter caused a lump to form in Leonard's throat. He had seen the video for only a minute and he was left horrified at the depraved treatment of their Father, he had no idea how long Raphael had been left watching it.

"Leo" said Raphael, interrupting his thoughts as they run

"That video... what Karai did to him..." started the red masked turtle

"She will pay" affirmed Leonardo coldly

"No, you don't... you don't understand. She tricked him" croaked out Raphael "in the video he didn't fight back... she made him think she had me too. He let her do that stuff to him... to protect me"

"Raph, I..." started Leonardo, not sure how to comfort his brother

Raphael’s voice had cracked several times as he spoke, and Leonardo didn't think he'd ever seen his brother in such an emotional state. The heartbreak in his fierce brothers voice, stoked a fire within him. Karai knew Splinter would do anything to protect them. She knew watching Splinter sacrifice himself would hurt the red masked turtle. The cold, ruthlessness of Karai was unnerving. As they neared the battle shell, Leonardo made a promise to himself. This needed to end, and this time mercy was not something the blue masked turtle could offer.


	10. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all your comments, I'm pleased people are still enjoying this!

**Chapter 9**

It had taken a surprisingly long time to move Splinter into the battle shell, the mutant rat had flinched at any contact either of them made and had yet to speak to them. He was clearly conscious and in a great amount of pain but the darkness of the night made it difficult to see his injuries and April knew they needed to get him into the battle shell. She had tried talking to him and he still remained silent. Casey was also at a loss and the red head knew he expected her to take charge of the situation. Eventually April had asked Casey to pick him up, carefully, and bring him in. Whatever Karai had done to Splinter, it had clearly affected him. She had known the turtles and Splinter for a long time now and considered all of them family; it broke her heart to see the rat in such obvious distress.

Given how Splinter had reacted to them, Casey was well prepared for him to struggle and made sure he held him securely while he carried him into the battle shell. Throughout the short journey, Splinter groaned in pain as his injuries were jostled. April knew Splinter was quite reserved and his nakedness was probably embarrassing him, so she quickly covered him in a blanket when Casey deposited him in front of her. She propped his head up on a pillow as Casey swiftly closed the back doors, before he joined her at Splinters side.

Now illuminated by the lighting of the van, April bit back a gasp of horror. Splinter looked as if he had been horrifically beaten, dried blood caked his fur and several gashes still oozed blood across his body. One of his eyes was swollen shut and April detected a faint wheeze when he breathed; possibly some broken ribs.

Glancing at Casey, April could clearly see the vigilante was struggling to contain his outrage. Around Splinters neck was a heavy black collar with a metal Foot pendant hanging from it like a dog tag. April had noticed Splinters left arm hanging limply and she moved around the rat to get a better look. Given the extent of the damage she had seen so far and the muffled cries of pain Splinter had tried to hide April suspected he had a few broken bones. His thick fur made it difficult to be sure and she would have to press around suspected areas to check where the breaks were. Given how he had reacted to touch before, April was somewhat nervous about trying. She wanted desperately to help him, but he was acting so strangely she didn’t want to cause him further distress. The turtles weren’t back yet which wasn’t a good sign, but there was no way her or Casey could leave Splinter, particularly after how easily the Foot had surrounded the van before.

Deciding she would have to do what she could until Donatello got here; April looked back at Splinters arm. It was lying palm down on the van and the limb already appeared to be swelling, April would need to check where the break was.

“Master Splinter… I need to check your injuries, ok?” said April softly

Getting no reaction, April lightly grasped his arm. As soon as she made contact, Splinter shuddered and tried to move away.

“Woah Splinter, it’s ok man” said Casey, lightly placing his hand on the rat’s right shoulder to keep him still.

At this Splinters good eye opened as his breathing sped up. Momentarily leaving the broken arm, April leaned over Splinter to look in his eye. Thankfully Donatello had packed a comprehensive medical kit in to the battle shell and it took her only a moment to locate a pen light.

“Master Splinter, how do you feel?” asked April

“April” he croaked out, uncertainty in his voice

“We’re going to help you, but you need to relax and let us, ok” she explained

Raising the pen light, April quickly shone it in the rats eye and her suspicion was confirmed. He had a concussion, which was probably why he seemed so confused. Given the damage to his other eye, April suspected he had taken a rather heavy blow to the head, and she could see no other injury that would have caused the concussion.

“Casey, keep him awake” instructed April, moving her attention back to the broken arm

“Uh, sure” said Casey

“You gotta keep awake Master Splinter, April’ll fix you up in no time” said Casey, not entirely sure how to keep Splinter awake

Turning her attention back to the broken arm, April noticed something unusual. The fur on Splinter’s arm seemed to thin out on the side. Gently grasping the limb again, April didn’t let go as Splinter tensed and shuddered at the contact. Casey was still talking to him, telling him something about hockey in an attempt to distract him. She was just glad he hadn’t mentioned the turtles to Splinter. She was fairly sure his current confusion was caused by the concussion but she didn’t want to risk panicking him by mentioning the turtles.

Sensing Splinter had settled down again, April slowly rotated the limb until she could see his inner forearm.

“Casey” she said, drawing the man’s attention

The inside of Splinters arm had been shaved of fur and April found herself looking at a tattoo of the Foot Clan symbol near his elbow with some kanji underneath. Tears welled in April’s eyes at the sight. What had Karai done to him?

“What kind of person does that?” growled Casey, shaking with rage. Swiftly he turned away from Splinter and April and punched the wall of the battle shell twice in rapid succession. April could only watch him, she felt the same way. Turing back to Splinter, April found the rats good eye was locked on the tattoo. She had never seen the mutant rat look so sad and lost.

“It’ll be ok” she tried, attempting to soothe him

She couldn’t stand to see the broken look on the rats face any longer and quickly pressed around the arm to find the break. A sharp intake of breath indicated she had found it.

“I’m sorry” she mumbled

His arm was broken but it seemed like a clean break and the bones were still aligned. Casey had regained control of his temper and gone back to keeping Splinter occupied, leaving April free to examine the rest of him. Throughout the examination, Splinter flinched and shook under every touch and it broke April’s heart each time. She and Casey had tried to reassure him, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. By the time April had completed the examination, her dislike of Karai had grown into a raging hatred that demanded vengeance. Splinter had a broken left arm and shoulder, at least 4 cracked ribs and his left ankle was broken. His ankle looked like someone had twisted it until they heard a snap, and then carried on twisting. Aside from the broken bones, multiple slashes littered his body including a nasty slice that went from the left side of his chest to his right ribs. It was clear he had been in chains as the skin around his ankles and wrists was rubbed raw and bare of fur.

Having examined his body, April turned her attention to his face and the collar.

“We gonna take that stupid thing off yet?” asked Casey, following her gaze to the collar

“Yes” she replied simply “Casey you might need to lift him up slightly”

Before moving him, April wanted to immobilise his arm and shoulder with a sling. His arm would need a cast whenever they got back to the lair, as would his ankle. For now she had splinted both the best she could. Like Casey, April was keen to remove the collar but Splinter would need to be more upright to do it.

A few minutes of flinching and groaning later, Casey was holding Splinter upright while April secured the sling around his neck. From here she turned her attention to the collar.

“I can’t take it off” she muttered after a few moments

“What?” questioned Casey

“They’ve pulled it tight against his neck and welded a piece of metal over the clasp. I need tools to get it off. Donnie would probably know the best way” whispered April,

“We can’t leave him with it!” snapped Casey

“I know Casey, but if I try to cut it off it could cause more damage” she huffed “I think he’s got a burn under there too”

“What do ya mean?”

“I mean, they heated that piece of metal to close it while Splinter was wearing it and it burnt him”

Moving from behind Splinter, April started to examine his swollen eye while he was slumped in Casey’s hold.

“Turtles… where are they” questioned Splinter quietly

Glancing at the rat in surprise, April felt fear run through her. What was she supposed to tell him?

Before April could formulate a response an explosion sounded in the distance drawing all of their attention. The battle shell was about a mile away from the house but there could be no doubting where the explosion had come from. The area they were in was virtually abandoned. At the sound of the explosion, April scrambled over to the front of the van and peered out of the window. A huge fireball exploded in the distance and April immediately feared the worst. If her friends were in that explosion, there was no way they could have survived.

Moving back from the window April re-joined Casey; it was obvious the vigilante was desperate to go look for the turtles, but thankfully he had stayed still and was holding Splinter upright. Locking eyes with Casey, April tried to silently convey the message; don’t mention the turtles. Looking down at Splinter again, April could see he was struggling to keep his eyes open and seemed no more lucid than before. He was in desperate need of proper medical care, but they couldn’t leave this place yet. They had to know what had happened to the guys.

* * *

Using his twin Sai to block the incoming sword, Raphael sidestepped his opponent and landed a heavy front kick to the Ninjas side, knocking him backwards several paces. Continuing his assault the red masked turtle flew forwards and enjoyed the cracking sound that resonated when his fist met the Ninjas face, leaving him unconscious at his feet.  Sensing movement behind him, the turtle spun around to face his next opponent.

One minute he was following Leonardo through the woodland towards the van, and the next they were being attacked by a large squad of Foot soldiers. The black clad Ninjas had materialised out of the darkness and surrounded the two brothers. Honestly, Raphael was relieved. He was desperate to unleash his fury on the Foot and he made sure to enjoy every moment of it, ducking under a punch he retaliated with one of his own before flipping over his crumpled opponent to engage another. Normally the Foot would try to wear them down by numbers, but these Ninjas were much more skilled than they used to be and both turtles were struggling to hold their own against multiple skilled opponents.

Glancing over at Leonardo, Raphael saw his brother fighting off two Foot soldiers, his twin Katana a blur as they parried and countered each strike. He knew his brother was eager to get back to the van, but Raphael was rather pleased he had the chance to pound on some Foot beforehand. Especially after what he had just witnessed.

After Donatello and Leonardo had gone into the house, both he and Michelangelo had left to take up their positions on the roof and perimeter. Raphael was stationed on the roof of the building, within easy access of a window and with a view to the back door. Michelangelo had been stationed in a tree opposite the house giving him access to the front door and good view of the front of the building. Their brothers had only been gone for a few minutes when Raphael sensed an arrow hurtling towards him. The red masked turtle had just ducked in time and the arrow had embedded itself in the roof, unfortunately the arrow wasn’t meant to hit him. Attached to the arrow was a cloth coated in what Raphael assumed was some kind of tranquiliser. As soon as he smelt it he became lightheaded and started to lose consciousness. The last thing he saw was a couple of Foot soldiers wearing gas masks grabbing at him as he slumped down on the roof.

It was after that he had awoken as his elder brother found him. He didn’t know how long he had been watching that video but it had repeated twice and was halfway through a third time when he was freed. A growl rumbled in Raphael’s throat as he stabbed his Sai forwards, his opponent blocking with a Bo staff. The video had shown Raphael what Karai had done to their Father. He had seen her touching him, degrading him and forcing the collar around his neck. He had watched as she taunted him using pieces of shell to make him believe Raphael was held there as well. Worst of all, he had watched Splinter sacrifice himself to protect a son who wasn’t there. Seeing his strong, proud Father reduced to a docile pet had made something inside him snap. When Raphael thought there was nothing worse Karai could do, she had proven him wrong. Without any way to unleash his anger while confined to the chair, Raphael’s emotions had overtaken him when she branded Splinter with the Foot clan symbol. There was no force on Earth that would stop Raphael from killing the woman now. Until he could get to Karai, the Foot soldiers would have to make do. They were responsible too. Raphael had suffered through watching the cowards beat Splinter while he was restrained. They’d lined up to take turns! They had shown no mercy and Raphael would show them no mercy.

A small gasp of pain broke Raphael’s concentration and he turned his head to see blood steadily slipping out of a gash to Leonardo's upper right arm. The elder turtle was struggling to fend off both of his attackers; the Foot had improved their teamwork. In past battles they would often get in each other’s way, hindering their ability to fight the turtles.

Turning his attention back to his own battle, the red masked turtle jabbed both of his weapons forward catching the Bo staff mid swing and throwing the Ninjas balance off. Quickly twisting his weapons Raphael disarmed his attacker and followed up with a powerful roundhouse kick to the head that left the Ninja unconscious before he hit the ground.

A quick glance around the area assured Raphael they were at the end of attackers. There had been only eight Foot in the assault but they had proven more difficult to dispatch than in previous encounters. Two soft thuds alerted him to Leonardo finishing his battle, and the leader materialised by his side a moment later.

"Are ya ok?" asked Raphael, eyeing the bleeding gash on his brother's arm

"I'm fine. Something about this seems odd, though" replied the turtle

"It’s the Foot Leo. Did ya think they were just going to let us all go home?"

"It just seemed odd. Like they were trying to distract us, almost"

"From what, exactly?" asked Raphael in annoyance

"It doesn't matter. Let's just-"

Leonardo was cut off mid-sentence as an arrow flew from deep within the trees towards the brothers. Wasting no time, Raphael pulled his elder brother far away from the arrow while holding his breath. The memory of being knocked out still fresh in his mind.

Leonardo allowed his brother to pull him off to the side and immediately withdrew his Katana, eyes searching the dense forest for the attacker. Raphael seemed to have the same idea and quickly threw a volley of shuriken into the tress where the attack had come from. Both turtles remained tense for a minute, quietly unnerved by not noticing the enemy that lurked in the shadows.

"Leo there's a note attached to that arrow" muttered Raphael, his amber eyes scanning the area for threats

Sheathing one Katana, Leonardo slowly reached down to retrieve the note. The calm mask he wore slowly crumbled as he read the note;

_My dearest Leonardo, congratulations on rescuing Raphael and escaping the building. You played your part perfectly. Predictability is the enemy of the Ninja and you are truly predictable. Sending your purple masked brother to the nearest location was exactly what I wanted. Do not worry too much, I will take good care of him and the orange one. Pass on my regards to your Father and tell Raphael his time will come. This is my game Leonardo, and within it you have no control._

"She has them" whispered Leonardo

"What?" growled Raphael, snatching the note from his brother and reading it himself

"I sent Donnie to the nearest location because I thought it would give them a better chance to escape. I did exactly what she wanted" whispered Leonardo, frozen to the spot

Raphael was visibly shaking when he reached the end of the note, having seen what she had done to Splinter he was terrified of what she might do to their brothers.

"What do we do?" demanded Raphael, for once seeking guidance

Leonardo had no response. He honestly did not know what to do and that scared him. His brothers were relying on him; his Father needed him, and Leonardo was blaming himself for this mess.


	11. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who is still reading this story! There's lots more to come!

**Chapter 10**

Michelangelo had never been overly fond of the dark. It wasn’t exactly a desirable quality in a Ninja and when he was with his brothers it didn’t bother him as much, but being stuck in a coffin shaped box that was in complete darkness was not helping his phobia. It was also turning him slightly claustrophobic. He had been lying on his shell since he had woken up here and could barely move an inch in any direction.

Focusing on his breathing, Michelangelo tried hard to slow his panic. He remembered an arrow being fired at him when he was outside the house, it had missed but some kind of noxious fumes had knocked him out. The next thing he knew he was tied to a chair and was forced to watch a video of Splinter being tortured by Karai. The orange clad turtle felt a shudder run through him at the thought of the video. He knew he would have nightmares for months after seeing it. The horrid video had repeated itself over and over until Donatello had burst through the door, and there was finally someone to distract him. His purple masked brother had breathlessly explained the situation while freeing him from the chair and Michelangelo was more than ready to get out of there.

Unfortunately that was when things went wrong. Well more wrong than they already were. As the turtles had moved to leave the room, the door Donatello had entered through sealed and locked itself. They searched desperately for another exit and tried to knock the door down, but it was ultimately useless. After several minutes of struggling and shouting in the hope their brother's would find them, a light hissing sound alerted them to a gas being pumped into the room. They had tried in vain to not breathe the foul gas in but it continued to pollute the air until they both began to lose consciousness. Before he finally succumbed to the gas, Michelangelo heard several loud bangs that rocked the room they were in but did not seem to damage it.

He had no idea where he was now or what had happened to Donatello. Had their brother's made it out before the explosions? Did they get Splinter back? The only thing he knew for sure was that Karai had taken him and Donatello, and that terrified him. The things she had done to Master Splinter were burnt into the youngest turtles mind and the thought of being at her mercy made his skin crawl.

"Michelangelo" crackled a voice over a speaker system

It was Karai. Considering he was just thinking about her, Michelangelo was very creeped out as her voice echoed around him.

"We're going to play a game" she continued

"Actually, I don't like games all that much" replied Michelangelo

"You will be dropped into a maze below you in a moment. If you make it out you are free to go" continued Karai

If he made it out? He didn't like the sound of that.

"What have you done with Donnie?" called the orange masked turtle, attempting to channel Raphael into his voice

"He is fine, for now. He has his own problems to solve anyway..." trailed off Karai

Michelangelo did not like any of this; Karai was clearly insane and she had Donnie. Before he could think about his predicament anymore, the hard wooden base he had been stuck to fell away and he plunged downwards in free fall through the darkness. Wherever he was, Michelangelo sure hoped Leonardo had a plan.

* * *

Guilt gnawed at Leonardo as he watched the scene before him. After being ambushed in the woodland and learning Karai had taken Michelangelo and Donatello, he had been at a loss for what to do next. Raphael was ready to charge back to the destroyed house and search for their brothers but Leonardo knew it would do no good. Karai had taken them and he had no idea where. They needed to regroup with April and Casey. They still had no proof Master Splinter had been returned and based on that video he was badly hurt.

Eventually, Leonardo had convinced his red clad brother to return to the battle shell with him and they had finally arrived there after a short run. Blood was still flowing from the wound on his arm, despite tying his mask around the injury.

April had been relieved to see them having witnessed the explosion earlier on but she had instantly become worried when she counted two turtles instead of four. Leonardo had quietly explained the situation to them while Raphael sat at Splinters side, their Father had finally lost the battle for consciousness. With great reluctance they had headed back to the lair where April had done her best to care for Splinter; Raphael had surprised them all by his eagerness to help her in Donnie’s absence and the red masked turtle was now sat by the cot in the infirmary. Leonardo’s own injury had been cared for too and white gauze now covered his bicep. It was this that had brought his feelings of guilt to the surface. Master Splinter shouldn’t be seriously injured and lying unconscious. Raphael shouldn’t be plagued by guilt; this wasn’t his fault. Two of their brothers shouldn’t be missing.

From his place in the doorway, Leonardo watched his hot-headed brother speak softly to their sleeping Father. April had told him the list of injuries he had sustained from his time with Karai and had expressed some concern for how he had reacted to them. Having seen some of the video Raphael had been forced to watch, Leonardo had a fairly good idea why Splinter was uncomfortable being touched. He had quickly explained this to April who had felt horrible for making him uncomfortable, she was currently on a laptop in the kitchen researching ways to help Splinter recover. Casey had seemed unsure of what to do with himself, and Leonardo felt the same way. Eventually Casey had settled on borrowing Raphael’s punch bag to unleash his frustration.

“Are ya just gonna stand there all day, or are ya actually gonna come see him?” questioned a gruff voice, breaking Leonardo out of his thoughts

Seeing his eldest brother hesitate, Raphael called to him again.

“Just get in here”

“Ok” said Leonardo softly, moving to stand beside his brothers chair. The leader felt his heart clench at the heavy bandages that covered Splinters small frame. His left arm had been put in a cast and was secured to his chest with a sling. His broken shoulder was covered in bandages that went around his ribs as well, aiming to secure the broken bones. His ankle had also been put in a cast and was propped up on a pillow. A thick blanket covered a lot of the injuries but that made little difference to Leonardo. He knew the injuries were there, he had no idea how bad the psychological injuries might be. The only thing he was sure of was how painful the recovery would be.

“Thank you Raph” stated Leonardo after a while

“For what?”

“It was really great how you helped April and how you’ve been looking after him”

“He’s my Dad too, Leo. I wasn’t just gonna hide in a doorway from him” shot back Raphael

“I…you’re right. I’m just not sure how to handle all this” said Leonardo, struggling to find the words

“You’re gonna have to figure it out. We’ve got two brothers missing, and Karai has an appointment with the business end of my Sai” muttered Raphael darkly

“How do we find them though? We couldn’t even find Splinter” huffed Leonardo, frustration bubbling over

"I don't know, but the idea of her treating Donnie or Mike like she did Splinter..." said Raphael with a shudder

Leonardo understood; he had the same fears. Seeing that awful Foot Clan collar around Splinters neck was almost too much to take, and when they arrived back in the lair Raphael had grabbed some of Donnie’s tools and carefully removed it under April's instruction. The collar had left marks around Splinters neck from where it had been pulled tight, and a patch of burnt fur at the back indicated where it had been welded shut, so removing from the rat had been difficult; they didn’t want to cause him more pain. Fortunately Splinter was unconscious throughout. He didn't know what his brother had done with the collar, but the smell of smoke on him indicated it might well have been burnt. Grimly, Leonardo looked at the cast covering Splinters arm. Unfortunately, they couldn't remove the tattoos, but April hoped his fur would eventually cover it when it grew back.

It was at that moment an alarm rang out through the lair. Someone had tripped the perimeter alarm. Immediately Leonardo and Raphael ran out to the main room of the lair, Casey and April quickly joining them.

“Is it the Foot?” asked Casey stumbling around to retrieve his hockey mask and weapons

“April, can you check the alarm” asked Leonardo

“Already on it Leo”

April sat the laptop down on the coffee table and quickly opened up the security system Donatello had developed.

“There seems to be one person stumbling around by the furthest perimeter alarm in the North tunnel” she explained looking at the video feed

Casey and the turtles peered over her shoulder at the stumbling figure.

“Is it a drunk or something?” asked Casey

“I don’t think so…is that Chaplin?” said Leonardo, eyes focused on the figure

“This could be a trap” muttered Raphael

“We should check it out anyway. The sensors haven’t detected anyone else out there” said Leonardo

“Yeah, I’d love to have a little chat with Chaplin” said Raphael, a wicked smile spreading over his face

“Hey, I’m coming too!” said Casey quickly, not wanting to be left behind again

“Ok, fine” said the leader, before turning to April “Would you mind staying with Splinter?”

“Of course not” she answered quickly “just be careful”

Leonardo nodded his agreement and set off towards the tunnel with Casey and Raphael following swiftly behind. There was a good chance Chaplin would know where Donnie and Mikey were; they couldn’t afford to let him get away.

* * *

“You expect me to play along with your sick game?” snarled Donatello

“You do not have to. Though I don’t think your brother stands much chance without you” replied Karai, as she left the room.

Donatello glared at the door until it shut, leaving him alone in the room. He was certain that he was being watched, however. The purple masked turtle had no idea where he was and had woken up approximately 30 minutes ago to find he was securely bound to a chair in a bland, white room. Aside from the chair a large screen was mounted on the wall in front of him and was currently displaying two sides of the screen. One side of the screen showed Michelangelo at the start of what looked like a labyrinth style maze. His orange masked brother was attempting to go through one of the two doors that stood before him. The doors looked identical, but Donatello knew that each door led to something different. This brought Donatello’s attention to the second half of the screen. This side of the screen had only a few words but it was enough to make Donatello nervous:

Left Door

_Poison_

Right Door

_Battle_

This was the game Karai wanted him to play. After Michelangelo and Raphael were taken prisoner at that house, Donatello had quickly reached the room his eldest brother had sent him to. Unfortunately, it was yet another trap. He had found his youngest brother in tears and tied to a chair; forced to watch the torture of their Father on replay. When they had tried to leave the room, it was flooded with a noxious gas that knocked them both out. Shortly after he had awoken, Karai had come to see him. She explained how Michelangelo was going to make his way through a maze, and Donatello had the opportunity to help him. The options on the screen represented the doors Michelangelo was now in front of. Donatello had to choose which door would open for Michelangelo, and by choosing the door he was choosing what horror his brother would face.

The purple masked turtle was not naïve. He knew this was a sadistic game. He also knew it was ultimately all about Leonardo. Donatello had of course questioned Karai for his brothers whereabouts and she had refused to tell him whether she held them prisoner too. The more he thought about it, the more he doubted she had Leonardo and Raphael. The game she was playing now, confirmed Donatello’s growing suspicion that had begun with the capture of Splinter. Karai wanted revenge on Leonardo; and the leaders biggest weakness was his love for his family. Therefore, to hurt him, Karai would hurt them. There seemed to be a system in place that had started with Splinter and had now moved on to Michelangelo and himself. If he was right, Karai would target Raphael next. To make matters worse, Karai appeared to have developed a taste for sadism and psychological torture. The minute or so of the video he had seen of her torturing Splinter confirmed this. Where the Shredder would have most likely beaten them and tortured them physically, Karai was using their own weaknesses against them.

For Donatello this meant using his own mind against him. He was the healer, the brain and liked to help people. Now he could ‘help’ his brother by choosing which danger he would face. It was cruel. Every part of Donatello wanted to rebel and choose nothing, but he had been told if he did not choose, both doors would open and Michelangelo would choose. What made it worse; Michelangelo had no idea Donatello would be choosing for him, or what was behind each path. At least Michelangelo now had his Nunchucks. Donatello had no idea where his Bo staff or shell cell were.

Weighing up the options before, Donatello knew what he had to choose. Poison was a huge risk but so was battle. The purple masked turtle agonised over the decision. He wanted, no, he needed more information. No more information would be forthcoming, however, as a countdown appeared in the top corner of the screen. There was 20 seconds to decide.

Poison could make him ill or kill him. How easy was it to avoid? Who would he battle? Would it be a fair fight? He doubted it.

Fifteen seconds.

Donatello decided.

“Right” he said aloud

Guilt tore through him as the right door opened, to the surprise of his brother on screen. Desperately, Donatello tried to focus. There had to be a way out of this; he couldn’t stand to make decisions like this. The helplessness was overwhelming.

 _‘Mikey, I’m sorry’_ thought Donatello as his brother entered the corridor that lay behind the door.


	12. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone still reading this story! Hope you enjoy chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Well that was creepy. One minute Michelangelo was standing in front of two doors that seemed impossible to open and the next minute, the door on the right opened for him. He was fairly certain that wasn’t a good sign; nevertheless he walked through the doorway and into the cool, damp tunnel. After falling out the bottom of whatever box he had been trapped in, Michelangelo had landed in a heap on a cold tunnel floor. It had been completely dark at first, but lights had flickered on moments later revealing his nunchucks lying a few feet in front of him. The orange masked turtle had gratefully picked up his weapons and looked around the tunnel, but wherever he had fallen from seemed to have disappeared. The tunnel only led in one direction; Michelangelo suspected it led nowhere good.

With no sign of his brothers, Michelangelo had reluctantly followed the tunnel that led him to the two doors. Both doors seemed identical, with the Foot Clan symbol emblazoned on the front of each, and neither had opened when he tried, until the right doorway had suddenly swung open.

With no other choice, Michelangelo moved into the tunnel. He got the impression he was in some kind of underground maze; the tunnels had the same dampness the sewers normally had. The tunnel was weakly illuminated and Michelangelo found it curved slightly to the left before opening up to a smaller room.

The orange masked turtle stopped in his tracks as he entered the room. A heavy set figure stood to the side of the small room, covered head to toe in black and standing at least 7ft tall. The room itself was bare aside from the Ninja and two doors on the other side of the room.

“Oops. Wrong room” called Michelangelo, attempting to back out of the room

Unfortunately, his shell was met only with a solid door. He was trapped.

“So, can you give a turtle some directions, dude?” joked Michelangelo casually swinging his Nunchucks and making his way across the room.

He kept his eyes on the Ninja who had yet to move. When he was halfway across, the Ninja silently reached over his shoulder and retrieved an ono. The ono was about four feet long and had a heavy steel blade on one end. Michelangelo gulped. The weapon looked like a very large, very deadly axe. Master Splinter told them the Ono was a difficult weapon to use and was very heavy. This Ninja had lifted it with ease and now held it in front of him, the wickedly sharp blade gleamed menacingly at Michelangelo.

“It’s totally cool if you don’t want to give me directions. I’ll figure it out myself!” called Michelangelo, holding out hope the large Ninja would ignore him

Sadly the Ninja seemed intent on battle and with surprising speed leapt towards the young turtle, the ono swinging towards his head.

Ducking underneath the blade, Michelangelo barely managed to dodge as he danced out of range. This was not good. The room had limited space and the orange masked turtle could not risk being hit with that weapon.

“I don’t want to scare you or anything, but I am the battle Nexus champion. I’ll give you one chance to surrender” said Michelangelo summoning as much bravado as he could.

The Ninja was not to be deterred, and moved forwards towards Michelangelo, swinging his weapon downwards in a move that would have crushed the youngest turtle. Leaping to the Ninjas right, Michelangelo swung his nunchucks in rapid succession, aiming for the Ninjas head and ribs. The Ninja agilely leaned away from the strikes and struck out with a fist, sending Michelangelo flying backwards. Rubbing his now sore chest, Michelangelo got quickly back to his feet. This opponent was dangerous and had superior strength and size to Michelangelo.

Deciding to take the offensive, Michelangelo charged towards the Ninja who swung the Ono towards forwards in an arc. At the last second, Michelangelo pushed upwards over the blade and flipped over the head of the Ninja. As he flipped, the orange masked turtle smashed a nunchuck downwards on the Ninjas head in what should have been a deadly blow. As he landed on the other side, Michelangelo turned to see the Ninja had also turned to look at him. Blank eyes stared out from the black clothed figure. A dent was noticeable in his head where the weapon had connected. Still the Ninja stared at Michelangelo, who stared back in surprise.

 _‘Oh shell’_ thought Michelangelo ‘ _It’s not human’_

A moment passed without movement, and then the Ninja once again swung the ono at Michelangelo who leaned back out of reach, allowing the weapon to pass him. As soon as the weapon passed him Michelangelo made to move forwards on the offensive again, he had taken half a step forwards when pain exploded across the plastron, knocking him backwards.

Striking with a heavy weapon like the Ono would need a lot of momentum, and Michelangelo had assumed the momentum would carry the weapon past him with the Ninja unable to correct the swing due to the weight. This opponent was not human however, and had managed to stop his weapon as soon as it missed Michelangelo and change direction. The weapon had sliced the young turtle across the plastron from right to left, leaving a completely straight line with blood flowing from it.

Rolling backwards and away, Michelangelo winced in pain. His plastron had taken most of the damage but the fact he was bleeding meant it had sliced through his protective plating. That had hurt. If he’d been slightly quicker in moving forwards, the weapon would have probably cut him in half. The Ninja hadn’t even hesitated. Slicing his plastron open had been like cutting butter to him.

Standing shakily, Michelangelo knew he needed a plan. Well really he needed Donnie. Leo or Raph would probably do too. At this point he’d even take Casey. This thing was going to kill him.

 _‘Ok, so I caved part of his head in and he’s still standing. He has super strength’_ listed Michelangelo mentally _‘Could be a robot?’_

Deciding that was the most likely explanation, Michelangelo thought desperately for inspiration. His opponent was casually strolling towards him, Michelangelo’s blood dripping off the edge of the blade.

Backing towards the wall, Michelangelo decided it was now or never. He could try to make it to the doors but he suspected they would be locked. He couldn’t risk it.

Sensing his prey was cornered the robot Ninja raised the ono again. This time the Ninja stepped forwards and swung the heavy weapon, aiming to cut the turtle in half as his shell was against the wall. Using the wall to his advantage Michelangelo launched himself above the weapon, with the ono swinging under him and into the wall. The Ninja had swung it with such force, the blade was wedged deeply in the wall.

Not missing a beat, Michelangelo wrapped the chain of his nunchuck around the robots neck and used his feet to push himself backwards off the robot. With one final wrench the robots head came free, as he tried to pull the weapon free from the wall.

Sparks flew and Michelangelo flipped backwards, waiting to see if his plan had worked. The head rolled next to him.

The robot Ninja shuddered for a few moments as if it couldn’t decide what to do before a series of grinding noises could be heard. A moment later the grinding noises stopped.

Michelangelo held his breath.

The robot fell forwards and did not move.

Waiting a moment longer, Michelangelo finally decided he could breathe again. Glancing down at his wounded plastron, he was pleased to see the bleeding had virtually stopped but was pretty sure his plastron would now have a new permanent groove on it when the wound healed.

Cautiously, the orange masked turtle approached the two new doors. He knew this was some kind of game, so he knew there was no way he could go back the way he had come. His best chance was to keep moving forwards and hope a rescue came before something in this house of horrors killed him.

Both doors were locked, but Michelangelo had only waited a moment before the left door opened.

“Let’s see what’s behind door number two” he muttered, reluctantly heading down the damp corridor.

Heading off to face the next room, Michelangelo wondered what Karai was doing to Donatello. Whatever it was, he hoped it wasn’t as cruel as this maze.

* * *

Stumbling through the sewers Chaplin once again reflected on the wisdom of his plan. He had no idea if he was in the right part of the sewers, or if the turtles were even in the sewers. Besides, what would stop them from killing him on sight? Especially after what he had been part of…

A sudden movement in front of him sent the scientist stumbling backwards in fright. A few rats splashed through the sewer tunnel in front of him, the cause of his alarm. He forced himself to relax. His heartbeat slowed down, and he breathed in. Nice and calm.

“Strange place for a stroll” growled a voice down his ear

With a shriek of horror, Chaplin leapt forwards and came face to face with Leonardo. The muscular turtle held a Katana in front of him and glared at Chaplin with contempt. Hearing a snicker from behind him, Chaplin watched the red masked turtle that had surprised him move to stand beside him. He looked rather pleased about scaring the scientist. However scared of Leonardo Chaplin was, his brother scared him more. The red masked turtle stood casually, a Sai spinning in his hand as he stared at the scientist. Chaplin recognised the look of a predator measuring up his prey.

Holding his hands up, Chaplin decided it was now or never

“I.. I come in peace” he stammered

Splashing drew his attention and Chaplin recognised the human vigilante and friend of the turtles, now standing to the right of Chaplin. A hockey stick was in his hands.

“Yeah, right” said Casey rolling his eyes “and Raph’s a ballet dancer”

“What do you want?” asked the leader icily

“I just want to talk” gulped Chaplin “it’s about Karai…”

“Karai” growled the red clad turtle, a manic gleam in his eyes “we aint exactly fans of hers”

“What about her?” questioned Leonardo, ignoring the way the human flinched back from Raphael

“It’s… she’s completely lost it. She’s gone too far…”

“Too far?” exploded Raphael “Did ya see what she did to our Father? What was your first clue she was losing it?”

“Enough, Raph” commanded Leonardo, his eyes never leaving Chaplin

“I know… I’m sorry” he stammered backing away from the red masked turtle but getting no further than Casey Jones

“I’d start talking” suggested Casey “before Raph blows a fuse”

“Explain what you want, now” ordered Leonardo, his face a mask of stoicism

“Ok. Er, well. Karai kind of fired me. She wanted to get revenge on you guys and she came to the science division to help her plan. Her plan… was all about getting to you” stammered the scientist

“Go on” urged Leonardo, his face stony

“The plan went too far. She didn’t just want to beat you guys, she wanted to torture you all. I saw what they had devised for each of you and tried to convince her not to go through with it” he continued, his confidence returning as he moved into more comfortable scientific territory “The plan was to evaluate all of you and devise a means of torture that would be the most effective. She would then use that method to break each of you”

“Why are you telling us this?” ground out Leonardo

“Like I said… it went too far. Crossed too many lines. She’s obsessed with you, stuck on the idea of revenge. She blames you, for what happened to the shredder” said Chaplin quickly, hoping it wouldn’t provoke the turtles any further “I want to help you”

At that, Raphael laughed.

“You want to help us, now? How about before she did what she did to Splinter?” huffed Raphael

His Sai stopped spinning.

“Can I kill him yet?” he asked the leader

Chaplin felt horror flood him. He came to help them, they wouldn’t kill him would they?

“Not yet” replied Leonardo, though he didn’t seem too bothered if his brother listened to him

“You know her plan?” asked the leader, eyeing the scientist warily

“Most of it, yes” stammered Chaplin “I refused to go along with it and she was going to get her Foot soldiers to kill me, but I got away before they came for me”

“How come they haven’t caught up with ya?” questioned Casey “Ya don’t look like someone who can fend off a Ninja, no offence”

At that Chaplin shrugged.

“I told you she’s obsessed with Leonardo. I don’t think I was worth wasting her time”

“So ya came to waste ours instead. Leo, you don’t really buy this do ya?” said Raphael

The leader considered this for a moment, his face unreadable.

“You will come with us” announced Leonardo to the collective astonishment of everyone

“I don’t think you’re lying. If you really want to help us, you will help us. Trick us and I’ll leave you to the mercy of my brother” he declared

“You actually trust him?” questioned Raphael, his own distrust plain to see

“We have no choice. We need to find our brothers and stop Karai. If that means trusting Chaplin, then so be it” answered Leonardo

“That doesn’t mean you’ll know where our lair is though” he continued turning to Chaplin

Casey seized the man from behind while Leonardo pulled a cloth from his belt and wrapped it around the man’s eyes, blinding him.

“Betray us, and you die” warned the blue masked turtle

Chaplin felt himself being lifted up and then he was moving quickly through the sewers. His nerves were shot. He had betrayed the Foot and Karai, and was helping the enemy. It had to be done though. Karai was no longer rational, and Chaplin couldn’t stand by and watch her carry out her plan. He himself bore no ill will towards the mutants and was always fascinated by them. What Karai wanted to do was too much, and by the sounds of it she had already gotten to Splinter.

He just hoped he could help them save their brothers in time. It would save them all more suffering and now, it might be the only way to save his own life.


	13. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who is still enjoying this!

**Chapter 12**

April continued to watch Splinter as he slept. After fixing him up as well as they could without Donatello, they had all decided to inject him with a sedative hoping it would allow him to rest in some comfort. The red head had no doubt Splinter would refuse the medication if he was conscious; all of them had an aversion to injections and drugs no matter how well they tried to hide it. She had no doubt it was a side effect of living as outcasts, the threat of labs and dissection hanging over them all of their lives.

The guys had gone to check on the perimeter alarm about 40 minutes ago and April had been anxiously waiting with Splinter since then. Based on her own loose estimate, the medication they had given him would wear off soon and he would hopefully wake up. April hoped he was more like himself this time, but instantly knew it was a false hope. Both Leonardo and Raphael had told her pieces of what they knew about his captivity and it didn’t paint a good picture.

Absently fixing the blanket over him, April tried not to worry too much. Given the ease with which the Foot had managed to take first Splinter and now Donnie and Mikey, April was understandably becoming paranoid.

 _‘What if they got captured?’_ she worried

How would she break it to Splinter? They already had no idea how to tell him two of his sons had been captured.

At that moment the lair door creaked open and relief flooded April as she recognised her friend’s voices. Three distinct voices. They were all back. Glancing at Splinter once more to check he was ok, April moved into the main area of the lair.

"I'm not ok with this" declared Raphael to everyone present

April had been moving towards her friends, but stopped when she noticed there was someone else with them. The red head was so surprised she stopped in her tracks and stared at the new guest.

Raphael and Leonardo appeared to be having a heated discussion, with the eldest turtle trying to placate his younger brother. Casey was watching the argument while maintaining a solid grip on a smaller man, who had his eyes covered with a cloth.

April's mind whirled as she tried to take in the scene before her.

Why was Chaplin here?

He worked for Karai, he was part of the Foot.

Finding her voice, April decided it would be quicker to just ask for answers.

"What’s going on?" She said, catching her friend’s attention "Why is he here?"

"We found him in the sewers looking for us. He says he wants to help" answered Leonardo before his brother could

"He wants to help?" asked April in confusion

"I do!" cut in Chaplin, quickly nodding his head, the blindfold still in place

"He will help us" reinforced Leonardo "Casey remove the blindfold"

With a small shrug, Casey removed Chaplin’s blindfold and relinquished his grip on the man. The scientist immediately stumbled forwards, his eyes widening in amazement as he saw the turtles lair.

"Woah" he said

"Wait till the sewer smell hits ya" said Casey, not seeing reason for the amazement

"If you're gonna help, ya better get started" warned Raphael, drawing the attention of the scientist

"Oh, right. Sorry" said Chaplin sheepishly, forcing himself to focus on the mutants

"Karai has taken two of our brothers. Where are they?" questioned Leonardo, taking charge once more

"I'm not entirely sure"

"Then how did you think you could help us?"

"Well I know the basic details of her plan, and some possible locations. They hadn't finalized the details when I was, you know, fired"

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Leonardo tried hard to maintain his composure. Trusting Chaplin was a huge risk for his family, but it could give him the only way to save his family.

"I've had enough of this" muttered Raphael, throwing a final glare at the scientist before stalking past April to the infirmary.

"April, can you show Chaplin what we've done so far? Maybe he has some new ideas" said Leonardo

"Sure Leo" replied April, looking distrustfully at Chaplin, before heading to the kitchen. Chaplin following quickly behind her

"Casey can you-"

"Keep an eye on Chaplin, no problem Leo" interrupted Casey following after April. No way was he going to leave April alone with him; although he was fairly sure she could kick the scientists butt.

Feeling the beginnings of a headache developing, Leonardo himself felt lost. Raphael was with Splinter, and April was going to work with Chaplin to hopefully find Donnie and Mike. Deciding things might progress quicker if he wasn't hovering and hoping to avoid a fight with Raphael, the blue masked turtle headed towards the Dojo.

He needed to meditate, to calm himself. The past week had been like living in a nightmare he couldn't wake up from, he only hoped it wouldn't get any worse.

* * *

Panting heavily, Michelangelo forced himself to breathe deeply and calm down. The water in the chamber had emptied out, leaving a soaking wet Michelangelo chilled and spluttering on the floor in the now empty room. This was the fourth room the orange masked turtle had found himself in. After defeating the robot Ninja in the first room he had walked through a room full of traps; spinning blades and spikes had shot out of the walls and floor at him. Despite his years of Ninja training, Michelangelo found it hard to evade all of the traps and had stumbled out of the room with two spikes wedged in his shell and a fairly deep slash on his right thigh.

Not wanting to go any further but seeing no other option, Michelangelo had entered the third room to find it full of at least 30 mousers. While a few mousers didn’t usually pose a problem for the turtles, 30 mousers to one turtle armed only with wooden nunchucks was asking a bit much. Michelangelo had finally managed to defeat all of the mousers, knowing the next door wouldn’t open until he did. His beloved weapons now hung damaged in his belt, the powerful mouths of the mousers having bitten the end off one Nunchuck and snapped the chain on the other. He had resorted to using the severed head of a mouser to defeat some. That room had left its mark as well. Deep gouges lined his left elbow where a mouser had clung on to him and his hands were littered with cuts from using the severed robotic head.

That brought Michelangelo to the room he had just survived. At first it had seemed like just an empty room, and the youngest turtle began to hope he had reached the end of this cruel game. That hope had been in vain when the room started to fill with water. As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, water began to rise from a multitude of tiny grids in the floor. He had frantically tried to open the two doors on the other side of the room, but neither budged. Michelangelo knew the rules at this point. Win and a door would open. How was he supposed to defeat water though?

When the water had reached his waist the question was answered. A brick on the left wall slid away to reveal a small panel with a single hole. The metal panel had the words insert key printed above a key shaped hole. No sooner had he read the message and a series of what appeared to be tiny, mechanical fish joined him in the water. Slipping in from the small grids, Michelangelo had counted 5 of them, each about the size of a piranha with wickedly sharp metal teeth gleaming at him. Underneath each metal fish, a metal key gleamed. After a moment’s hesitation Michelangelo understood; find the fish with the right key. He had immediately set out to catch one when all five had darted off in different directions. As he jumped and splashed around the room, the water level continued to rise. When the water had risen to his chest, he finally caught one by the tail. As he moved to pull it up the other four fish turned on him and began to bite his feet, ankles, everywhere causing him to drop the fish in surprise.

It had taken him four fish until he found the right key and at that point the water had reached the top of the room. He was a turtle, he could hold his breath longer than a human but he was underwater that long he found his limit.

Michelangelo remained on the ground as the right door clicked open, shuddering from the cold and the shock. He was now bleeding from numerous bite marks and all five metal fish lay in pieces around him. He had wanted to destroy them at the time, but a small voice in his head told him destroying mechanical fish underwater might not be a good idea. He had suffered through the biting and tried each key desperately until the right one clicked. The water had made the room dark when it was full and as it emptied Michelangelo found enough strength to crush the mechanical fish, once the threat of electrocution had passed. Now he lay panting, bleeding and exhausted. He had always loved the water and never feared it, he was a turtle after all. Yet now he understood why some humans feared it. As his capacity to hold his breath reached the end, Michelangelo had seen what it would be like to drown.

Drowning alone, submerged in cold water with the meagre lighting of the room obscured felt like being swallowed up in darkness. He had never liked the dark. As he tried each key, his mind screamed at him this was a trick, that all the keys were fake. His body had screamed for oxygen. His spirit had just screamed. Even now as the last of the water dripped off him, Michelangelo shuddered. The cool water that had once been friendly now felt like the cool touch of death, ready to drag him down and swallow him.

 _‘I want to go home’_ he thought desperately

He knew that wouldn’t happen, however. He had triple checked every room and corridor he had been in and found nothing that could lead him to either freedom or his brother. Where was Donnie? Michelangelo hoped he wasn’t being subjected to the same maze of horrors. Dragging himself to his feet, Michelangelo unwrapped his wrist coverings and covered the worst of the cuts on his body.

Shakily moving forwards, Michelangelo found he was glad to leave that room behind. He only hoped the next door led to something better.

This time the corridor was on an upwards slant and he found his spirits lifting as he hopefully moved towards freedom, or at least out of the maze.

* * *

 _‘Focus, focus, focus’_ repeated Donatello in his mind

It was the same mantra he had been driving through his mind relentlessly since it had started. He had been forced to play along with Karai’s sick game and had chosen which door Michelangelo would go through. While watching his brother battle the robot Ninja a high pitched sound had started in the room. It started quietly before becoming louder and louder. The high pitched whistle was continuous, with other equally horrific low pitched sounds occasionally joining in. The sounds were painful to hear, and reminded Donatello of the high pitched frequency Bishop had used to capture Master Splinter. The sounds were excruciating and had been continuous since they started. He had watched as Michelangelo defeated the Ninja and two new options appeared on the screen before him, once again forcing him to choose. This time the sound interfered. He had found it difficult to concentrate and when the timer appeared he blurted out the door he thought would be the least dangerous. He hadn’t had chance to think it through though. He couldn’t concentrate, the sound was driving him mad. As he watched his brother move through the maze the sounds had gotten worse; louder and more grating. Somewhere in his mind he knew this was Karai’s plan. She was disrupting his ability to think, to use his mind. He could meditate to block it out but he had to stay present. He had to know what Michelangelo was going through, if he didn’t choose a door Karai would. She would choose the most dangerous door.

Donatello had watched Michelangelo come close to drowning in the last room, but he could barely remember watching it. His head hurt. His mind was going crazy. He needed to shut down, but he couldn’t.

‘Just focus’ he told himself

He chose the right hand door for Michelangelo. He had beaten the timer, but he couldn’t concentrate on what he had chosen. In the end he had said anything so Karai wouldn’t get to make the choice.

Suddenly, the sound stopped. Donatello took a shaky breath feeling his mind return to a somewhat sane state. He looked at the screen:

Left Door

_Battle_

Right Door

_Phobia_

 Wait.

What had he chosen?

He could barely remember making the choice.

The screen showed Michelangelo on his knees. The right door clicked open.

Donatello’s heart sank. He didn’t. He couldn’t have chosen phobia for his little brother. Michelangelo didn’t like the dark. What was he going to face?

Guilt swamped Donatello. This was his fault, if he had just focused a bit more he’d have known what he was choosing. If he had been in a rational state of mind he would have chosen battle. He hated having to choose, but he would not have sent his brother to face his fears. Not alone.

Donatello could only watch as Michelangelo moved through the corridor. What had he done? 


	14. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who is still reading and commenting! This chapter wasn't supposed to be all about Splinter, but he practically demanded it. Enjoy!

**Chapter 13**

Waking up wasn't normally a problem for Splinter. Years of practice and training had developed his ability to wake up and suddenly be on full alert. It was a necessary skill for survival after all. But now he found his skill deserting him as he forced himself to wake up. It felt like a heavy fog was pressing him down, turning his muscles to lead and leaving him helpless.

Slowly he became more aware.

With the awareness came pain, however, and Splinter felt dull, throbbing pain throughout his body. His mind wandered. What had happened?

He remembered being beaten by the Foot soldiers. They had cut into him and twisted bones until they snapped. He had been punched, kicked and laughed at. They had strung him up like a piece of meat in a butchers and mocked him while he was being beaten, unable to defend himself. He had been called a freak many times before, but being fully exposed to so many people and unable to escape had added extra weight to the old insult. They had made sure to mock him; in both English and Japanese.

More memories flooded back to him. He tried to think of something else, but found himself unable to. Splinter was always proud of his mental strength. He had tried to teach his sons that true mastery was of the mind and not the body, though their youth made them sceptical. Now he found himself unable to control his thoughts. The memories of what Karai had done to him fresh in his mind.

The pain in his body was growing, he felt he was getting closer to consciousness but the fog still held him firmly in place. With his body so weak, he was left with nothing but his shattered mind for company.

He had been hit in the face. His memories after that were hazy, but he was sure he had seen April and Casey. Had they rescued him? Where were his sons?

Karai had tricked him. She had known he would do anything to protect his sons and had used that fact to force his compliance in her sick game. He had done what she said. The thought of keeping Raphael safe had gotten him through it. Finding out his son was never there had been both a huge relief and sickening. He was disgusted with himself for allowing Karai to do what she did to him. How could he look his sons in the eye? The only comfort was they wouldn’t know what had happened, they would see only the physical damage.

More awareness returned. He was lying on something soft, and he felt warm. Comfortable. It could be a trick, his mind warned, but Splinter felt that he was home. The pain felt sharper now but he still found his body wouldn't obey him. He needed to wake up. He had to know his sons were safe.

The thought of Karai anywhere near them sent chills through him. An itching sensation in his left arm could be felt through the general throbbing of the limb, and it took Splinter a moment to think what it was.

 _'Did you forget she branded you?'_ taunted his mind

The tattoo. Master Yoshi would be ashamed of him. The symbol of his enemy marking him. Despite his best efforts, Splinter began to panic. It wasn't a feeling he was used to, but frantic thoughts raced through his mind.

His sons had seen him with the collar. If he was home they would have surely seen the tattoo as well. They must be ashamed of him. He had tried so hard to be strong for them throughout their lives. It was a difficult life and he wanted them to feel safe. To feel they had someone who could protect them.

Now, he felt broken.

His mind continued to drift, as the fog lightened again.

Feeling some meagre strength return Splinter tried to move. He couldn't move his left arm; the pain was worse when he tried. Experimentally he tried his right hand. His fingers twitched around something.

"Master Splinter?" asked a familiar, gruff voice

Raphael.

Forcing his mind to reconnect with his body, things began to make more sense.

He was in a bed, and Raphael was holding his right hand.

He forced his eyes open and found only the right obeyed him properly, his left eye half opening with a heavy ache.

Soft lights were on, and Splinter found himself staring at the ceiling of the infirmary.

"Master Splinter?" repeated the voice, worry clear in the tone

"Raphael" he tried, his voice sounding weak and quiet

"How are ya feeling?"

Still feeling somewhat disoriented, Splinter chose not to reply. The sound of his own voice seemed like a stranger to him. Instead he tried to sit up, but got no further than an inch when a dark green hand relinquished his own and pressed down on his right shoulder, keeping him in place.

"Hey, you're hurt pretty bad. Ya need to rest" said Raphael, now hovering over him

Restraining him was hardly necessary. That slight movement had caused the dull ache in his left shoulder to morph into a firery burn, sending ripples of pain through his battered body.

Splinter glanced at Raphael, noting the worry that lined the turtles face. His son was being uncharacteristically patient with him. And gentle. He had always known Raphael had a soft side, he displayed it on rare occasions to his brother's but Splinter was not normally on the receiving end of his son’s softness. He had never needed to be.

Seeming unsure of what to do, Raphael pulled his chair closer to the bed and grabbed Splinters right hand again.

Splinter tried to focus his mind but part of him still felt out of it. He decided he didn't like the feeling.

Sensing his Father's confusion, Raphael shed some light on the reasons.

"We gave you something to help you sleep and take the edge of the pain. I know ya don't like that stuff but April and Leo thought it would help ya rest or something" he explained quickly

That made sense of the floaty feeling at least. Where was Donatello? He normally made the medical decisions.

Moving his gaze from Raphael, Splinter noticed the sling that immobilized his left arm and the multitude of bandages covering his shoulder and ribs.

He should talk to Raphael. The poor boy was looking increasingly concerned. Besides he had to know the others were safe. Where were they? If one of the family was ill or injured the others would normally surround them.

Wait.

Did they know what Karai had done to him?

Were they ashamed of him.

 _‘Of course they are’_ taunted the voice in his mind _‘Their powerful Father reduced to Karai’s plaything’_

Glancing again at Raphael, Splinter looked closer.

The turtle looked concerned and tired. But Splinter could tell there was more to the story. Raphael was angry; despite how well he was hiding it.

Before Splinter had chance to ask any questions, Raphael decided to break the silence.

“Master Splinter…I…I’m sorry” started the turtle, raw emotion coming to the surface “I screwed up. That night on the roof; if I‘d fought better you’d have never had to surrender”

Splinter was stunned into silence. Why was Raphael apologising? He had done nothing wrong. There was no need for Raphael to feel guilty.

The anger Raphael had been hiding became more obvious as he continued, becoming increasingly agitated “What Karai did to ya… was awful. I’m so sorry Father. You let her do it to protect me, and I wasn’t even there. We should have got to ya sooner! You never should have had to…

Pausing for breath Raphael tried to calm himself as he stared Splinter right in the eye. Fire danced in his amber eyes as he spoke.

“She won’t get away with this. I’m gonna kill her, Dad. Don’t worry. I’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to ya, I promise”

Splinter was mortified. Whatever had remained of his dignity was gone.

“How do you know what she did?” he whispered, wanting nothing more than to turn invisible

“She caught us when we went to get ya. She made me watch this video. Over and over. It was horrible” answered Raphael

If possible, Splinter felt even worse. Raphael had seen him being tortured? Had the others seen it too? He had never felt more vulnerable than he did now. Lying broken and battered in a bed, while one of his sons asked him for forgiveness.

Using whatever feeble strength he had left, Splinter gripped Raphael’s hand.

“Not your fault. Please don’t blame yourself” he said, almost begging

“Father, I…”

“It was worth it. To keep you safe…” interrupted Splinter his voice weakening

Noticing Splinter was growing tired, Raphael fought to control himself. Just the thought of Karai made his blood boil, but he couldn’t lose control now. Splinter needed him.

Seeing the fire in Raphael’s eyes dim slightly, Splinter tried to calm himself. With every breath his ribs ached. His arm ached. Everything ached. Raphael was so loyal. What had Splinter done to deserve such respect and loyalty? Raphael didn’t seem to be ashamed of him, but Splinter was still ashamed of himself.

Wait.

The others. His mind had wandered again. He needed to know.

“Where are your brothers?” he asked, pulling his red masked son from his thoughts

Raphael squirmed uncomfortably, and Splinters anxiety spiked. What was he not telling him?

“Just give me a second” answered Raphael eventually, before dashing to the doorway of the infirmary

“Leo!” he bellowed into the lair

Splinter winced at the loud noise, but at least he knew his eldest son was here. Where were the other two? He had seen nor heard either of them since waking up.

A moment later, Leonardo materialised in the doorway.

“He woke up” said Raphael in explanation to his brother

Splinter could see a relieved smile spread across his sons face as he came to take Raphael’s seat at his side.

“Hey Raph, will you go get April?”

“Sure” he muttered, clearly unwilling to leave the room

Leonardo turned his attention to Splinter.

“Master Splinter, are you ok? How do you feel?” he asked with concern

Splinter stared at his son for a moment, before answering. He could see the pity lurking in Leonardo’s eyes. He knew. Leonardo had seen what Karai had done to him.

“I’m fine” muttered Splinter

“Ok” answered Leonardo, knowing that couldn’t possibly be true “Do you need anything? Your ribs are cracked and you’ve got some broken bones so you need to stay really still”

“Where are your brothers?” he asked once again. He was getting tired and he needed to know.

Leonardo reacted as if this was the question he had expected but been dreading. Sensing his Fathers impatience and tiredness, he decided it was better to just tell him quickly.

“Karai has Donatello and Michelangelo” answered Leonardo “But we’re going to find them. Chaplin is helping us. I know it’s hard to trust him, but we can’t risk leaving them with Karai. It was the only option I could see. I’m sorry Father…”

While Leonardo rambled away an explanation, Splinter felt like his whole world had collapsed. After everything he had suffered through, Karai had two of his sons.

“No…” he managed

“I’m sorry” apologised Leonardo again

“Find them, now” ordered Splinter, his voice cracking. He tried to sit up again, but Leonardo moved to hold him down.

“Master, please calm down. You’re hurt. You need to rest. We’ll get them back I promise”

At that moment, Raphael entered the room again with April following. Taking in the scene, Raphael gathered their Father now knew what had happened to Don and Mike. April stepped quickly past the turtle and appeared on the left side of Splinter.

“Master Splinter, I’m glad you’re awake” she said, smiling at him

Splinter had once again abandoned trying to sit up. The pain was too much. He felt too weak.

“Should we give him something for the pain?” he heard Leonardo ask, as if he wasn’t conscious. But Splinter realised he had used up whatever strength he had left.

“I think so” murmured April

Both she and Leonardo were looking at him as if he was made of glass, and Splinter felt the strange urge to hide. He wanted them to stop looking at him. Stop acting as if he was broken.

 _‘You are’_ whispered the voice in his head

He hated them seeing him so weak, so vulnerable.

“Why don’t ya ask him?” cut in Raphael, and Splinter was grateful

“Raph, he must be in a lot of pain. He needs to rest” hissed Leonardo, as if Splinter couldn’t hear him

April had left his side and returned a moment later, a syringe in her hand. She seemed unsure. Splinter had known April for a while; she was like family. But now her closeness to him was making him nervous.

It was stupid. It was irrational. She was their friend, and yet he couldn’t stop himself from flinching as her fingers brushed his arm.

What was happening? He’d lost focus again. Obviously, Raphael had been overruled and he was about to be drugged again.

April was trying to hold his arm still to inject him.

She was too close. Her touch, it reminded him of Karai’s. Panic built.

Forest green hands gently restrained him as the injection was quickly given, but Splinter barely noticed. His mind wasn’t there anymore. It was lost in a sea of memories he would rather forget. The pain dulled. He was vaguely aware of Raphael and Leonardo arguing quietly, while April readjusted the blankets over him.

She had seen him flinch away from her, and hadn’t seemed surprised. She must know.

As his body felt heavier and heavier, Splinter was grateful when the darkness came. In the darkness he was safe. He could forget what had happened to him. His worries for his missing sons disappeared, and Splinter found his panic diminishing. 

Absently, he reminded himself it wouldn’t last. He couldn’t hide in the darkness forever. He would need to face reality sooner or later. Oh well. He doubted it could be much worse than his own mind.


	15. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who is still reading and enjoying!

**Chapter 14**

Leonardo rubbed a weary hand over his head as he left the infirmary. He was relieved that Splinter was awake and April seemed sure he would fully heal. But seeing Splinter in that state had been difficult. He had seemed so unsure of himself and nervous. Leonardo tried to dismiss the thoughts. His father had been through a traumatic experience. He would need time and support to recover. But with Karai still a threat and two brothers missing, Leonardo had no choice but to prioritize. That was why they had given him another sedative. He hated doing it, but keeping Splinter calm and safe to recover was the easiest way. Holding his obviously scared Father down while April injected him had been difficult. Arguing with Raphael has made it more difficult.

Still, as the leader he tried to understand his brother. It was obvious to the blue masked turtle, Raphael felt responsible and guilty about what happened to Splinter. That was why he was reluctant to leave his side now, and was maintaining a vigil over him. For now Leonardo would let him. He wanted to take care of Splinter too, but he had other duties, he only hoped his Master would forgive him.

Walking back to the kitchen, Leonardo barely noticed April come up behind him.

"You, ok?" She asked

"I'm fine. I'll be better when the others are home"

"Just don't push yourself too hard. You're not alone Leo" she reminded him as they  rejoined Chaplin and Casey in the kitchen. Chaplin was making notes while he quickly skimmed information on the laptop. Casey was standing over him with his arms crossed. He had stayed to keep guard over Chaplin despite not having a clue what he was doing.

"Any progress?" Asked Leonardo, as April took a seat next to the scientist

"Just a bunch of typing and writing" answered Casey, boredom clear in his voice

"Actually, yes" said Chaplin his eyes never leaving the screen "Before I was fired, the Foot were looking into new spaces they could acquire without them being linked to the Foot or the business side of the clan. I know the kind of spaces they wee looking for, but I don't know the exact locations. I've been trying to narrow down the search and I think I might have some possible locations"

Hope swelled in the leaders chest.

"Show me" said April, to which Chaplin wordlessly pushed the notes over to her

"Ok, where are they? How did you find them?" Asked Leonardo, desperate for more information

Moving his eyes from the screen, Chaplin swallowed nervously.

"I did some digging on the dark web about the house you guys went to. Turns out it was bought a few months ago by a property firm. It's a new company. What seemed suspicious was the name..." babbled Chaplin

"Which was?" Questioned the leader sensing Chaplins hesitation

"Well my Japanese is really poor, but the company is called Shinda Kame. It basically translates to dead turtle" he explained hurriedly

"Bet they don't get much business" muttered Casey

"This company is working for Karai" stated Leonardo, trying to make sense of the puzzle

"I think the company is just a cover for the Foot. I did some more digging and all of the properties they bought are in discreet locations, previously abandoned that kind of thing" replied Chaplin

"The ideal places for kidnapping mutant turtles and rats" agreed Casey

"Do we know which location she's using" asked Leonardo. He needed only the address and he would go.

"Well that's the problem" started Chaplin, tapping his fringes nervously "there is no way of knowing which one the Foot are using. It could be any. Karai was planning different tortures for each of you. The science division was working around the clock to analyse each of your weaknesses to use against you"

"I don't think we need to hear this" interrupted April, seeing the sad glance Leonardo cast in the direction of the infirmary

Steeling himself, the leader knew what he needed to do.

"No, its fine. The more we know about how Karai is thinking the better"

Turning to stare at Chaplin Leonardo made a decision. The man had helped them so far. He seemed sincere. He needed to understand how Karai was planning this, no matter how difficult it might be to hear.

"Please, tell us everything you know"

* * *

This had to be some kind of trick.

Michelangelo had entered the next room to find a small tray on the ground, bowls of rice and veg resting on it along with a large jug of water. His mouth watered and his stomach growled viciously as his eyes locked on to the tray. As tired and sore as he was, something in his mind warned him this was a trick.

As usual the door he had entered through locked behind him, and the two doors on the other side of the room were shut tight. Walking further towards the tray, Michelangelo looked carefully around the room.

Nothing had tried to kill him yet. That seemed odd.

Maybe the food was poisoned?

No. That didn't seem to fit either.

Realising that nothing would happen until he played his part in the game, the Orange masked turtle eased his aching body to the ground in front of the tray. Master Splinter had taught them about poison, of course. Wishing he had paid more attention, Michelangelo tried hard to remember the tastes and smells that could indicate the food had been tampered with.

Hesitantly he took a bite.

It tasted nice. The kitchen was his usual domain and as far as he could tell the food was good. The water in the jug was ice cold and refreshing. His confidence the food was not a trick grew and so did his appetite.

Within minutes the tray was empty. He hadn't even bothered to use the flimsy chopsticks provided. Pick the bowl up and pour it down his mouth was the message his brain had sent.

His meal now complete and feeling more confused than ever, Michelangelo decided to examine the room once more. The door still hadn't opened and that usually meant whatever he was meant to do he hadn't done yet.

Maybe they had got bored? Unlikely. But this lack of activity could give him an opportunity to escape.

He wasted no time examining the doors, they had already proven to be impenetrable. Instead he searched every inch of the stone walls and floor, until finally he saw something. It wasn't much. It was a loose brick near the floor on the right side of the room.

"Come to Mikey!" He said while struggling to pull the brick free

Finally it came away in his hands. Looking closer the orange clad turtle felt excitement bubbling up. The bricks concealed an air vent. When they were building this maze of horrors, it must have been bricked up.

His discovery gave him a surge of strength and Michelangelo worked quickly to remove the rest of the bricks covering the vent. It was hard work, but his desperation gave him strength. He used a broken end of his nunchuck to chip away at the wall, all the while hoping the rest of the wall wouldn't collapse on him.

Finally he uncovered it. The vent looked just big enough to fit him in, but he hesitated. He really didn't want to crawl into a dark enclosed space. He disliked the dark, but the air vent promised escape.

He reasoned with himself. If it was a dead end he could simply back out again. If he made it out of this maze he would hopefully have the upper hand and could try to rescue Donnie. He had to do it. If he waited here it would just be waiting for another door to lead to another room with who knows what in.

Deciding he had wasted enough time, the Orange masked turtle lay on his stomach and inched forwards. The spikes wedged in his shell grated along the top of the vent and his hands scrambled to pull himself forwards. Steadily inching forwards Michelangelo could see nothing, but forced himself to continue.

After a few minutes of crawling, Michelangelo heard a distinctive whoosh somewhere behind him. Panic seized him and he decided to try and go backwards. That was when he realised two things. Firstly, Karai had not forgotten him, in fact he had done exactly what she wanted. Secondly, the sound he just heard was a metal panel sliding closed behind him, effectively trapping him in the tunnel.

The panic grew and he forced himself forwards, if he couldn't back out then he would have to carry on. He had only crawled forwards a few inches when his hands came to a halt. Trembling slightly he felt in front of himself. A metal shutter was blocking his path. He couldn't go forwards or backwards. He was completely stuck in his current position with his arms stretched in front, lying on his plastron. There was no room in any direction, so he lashed out frantically, hoping something would give.

It didn't.

"Haha very funny" he called shaking into the darkness, hoping beyond hope he would get a response.

The only response he got was silence. Not sure whether he should laugh or cry at his own stupidity, Michelangelo did both.

There was no way out. That last room was just refreshment so he would last longer in here. They had fed and watered him so he would suffer longer before he died.

At this point he was convinced he was going to die. There was no enemy to fight. He was simply trapped, in the dark, in the silence. Alone.

He would die alone and somehow that made the whole thing even worse.

He needed his brother's. His Father. His friends.

Most of all he needed help; without it he could see no escape.

* * *

“Enter” ordered Karai

She realised there was a Foot soldier at her office door the moment he arrived. No matter how efficient they became at stealth, she was better. She had to be.

The Foot soldier strode quickly into the sparsely decorated office and dropped to his knees, holding a low bow as a sign of respect.

Satisfied the proper respect had been demonstrated, Karai moved on

“Say what you came to”

The man straightened but remained kneeling. Karai was sat behind a low, Japanese style desk, her attentive eyes looking straight through him.

“The turtle entered the air vent as planned, Mistress. He is now trapped and at your mercy” spoke the Ninja in heavily accented English

“Excellent” replied Karai, pausing for a moment

“Move into the final stage of phase two, for both turtles. Make the necessary preparations for phase three” she ordered

At once the Foot soldier bowed deeply again before returning to his feet and leaving Karai alone in the room. Satisfied she was alone Karai let a triumphant smile cross her face. She had done it. She had succeeded where her Father had failed. She had broken the rat and was now on the brink of breaking both Michelangelo and Donatello. She credited her success to not only the planning but the inventive ways she had chosen to break her enemies.

It had all been relatively simple. Start with the rat, he was the head of their clan and their Father. For a moment Karai lost herself to the memory of tormenting the rat. Yes, she had enjoyed it. Pathetic mutant had been an animal his entire life, herself and the Foot scientists had reasoned he was unlikely to have ever been touched intimately. Most men would have at some point, but he was just an animal. It made it the perfect way to abuse him.

Careful study of the turtles had shown Donatello was a logical, rational thinker. So of course she had to take that away from him. Drive him mad with sound and force him to choose what his brother would face. Karai knew the guilt would eat him alive. He was in a sense hurting his own brother.

Michelangelo, was the most carefree. He lacked the focus and discipline of his brothers. They had also realised through their research he disliked being alone, and was a true extrovert. So the plan was simple. Place him in a maze on his own. There is no-one to help him, no sound, no light. Nothing.

Moving from behind her desk, Karai decided she wanted to watch the final phase. It promised to be entertaining, and Karai was eager to see the turtles break. Moving swiftly down the corridor, Karai entered the computer room where a number of scientists were monitoring the turtles across a series of screens. As she entered, all of them stood and bowed deeply. None of them moved until she nodded once, signalling they could continue their work. Moving to where the head scientist of the phase stood, Karai saw one large screen focused on Michelangelo.  The orange masked turtles was thrashing around in the air vent, completely helpless. Little did he know, it was about to get much worse.

The other screen showed Donatello still tied to the chair, they had turned the sounds back on in that room and a mixture of high frequency and low frequency sounds were currently blasting at the turtle. The screen in his room showed him what had happened to Michelangelo, but the purple turtle appeared unable to focus and was shaking in the restraints desperate to escape the sound.

“The final stage is ready mistress” spoke the scientist, having checked all of the necessary systems were in place.

“How is the turtle reacting to the sound?” asked Karai, indicating Donatello

“The effect is much better than we hoped for. Some minor tuning was needed to find the correct frequency, but we are confident he is unable to concentrate and his cognitive abilities are impaired”

Giving a small nod of acknowledgement, Karai took one more look at the struggling turtles and smiled. She was proud of what she had accomplished. She hoped her Father would be too, if he were here.

“Begin”

That single word, meant different things.

To Karai it meant the beginning of the end of phase two. For Michelangelo and Donatello it meant the beginning of more suffering than they had ever known.


	16. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone for your lovely comments! Enjoy chapter 15!

**Chapter 15**

It had been two days since Karai had captured Donatello and Michelangelo, and Splinter had been returned home. After Splinter had awoken from his last forced nap, he had demanded to not be drugged again. Why should he rest in oblivion while two of his sons were missing? Raphael was the only one present in the infirmary and had agreed with his Father, provided he promised to rest. Thinking back on the past day, Splinter thought Raphael would make an excellent businessman. His negotiation skills were excellent.

To Splinter’s immense surprise, Raphael had taken up the mantle of carer. The red banded turtle had hardly left his side since his return, and Splinter knew deep down it was because Raphael blamed himself. He had tried to convince his son it wasn’t but it had fallen on deaf ears. Nevertheless, Splinter was very proud of the turtle. He had shown nothing but patience and understanding to his Father, and was eager to do anything to help him. The few times Raphael had left the infirmary he had heard his hot headed son arguing with Leonardo and generally behaving in his more typical fashion. Oh well, small steps.

Splinter had adamantly refused more drugs since the last sedative, but his whole body seemed to throb in pain. His cracked ribs and broken shoulder were particularly bothersome. Raphael had finally convinced him to take some mild pain killers that wouldn’t knock him out and he was grateful they dulled the pain somewhat. April, Casey and Leonardo would regularly check in on him but Raphael made a point of handling his care himself. Splinter did feel ashamed he was so weak that his children were taking care of him, but Raphael never made an issue out of it. The red masked turtle had changed the bandages around his chest and shoulder with a gentleness that surprised his Father. The stitches that closed the large wound across his chest were thankfully holding together, and Raphael had helped his Father to sit more upright in the bed. At least Raphael was more lenient than Donatello would be, if he was here. At that, Splinter felt a pang of grief. He knew April and Raphael had been left to fix his injuries and he was truly grateful for their care, but still he missed Donatello and Michelangelo. He only hoped they would be found soon.

While in captivity, Splinter had been forced to eat the pet food Karai had provided him with. It had provided him with hardly any energy or nourishment and left him weak, not to mention it tasted disgusting. Continuing his new role as family doctor, Raphael had deemed it necessary that Splinter start eating normal food again and so had brought some soup into the infirmary for him.

This was where they had met a problem.

Raphael wanted to feed it to him.

The idea of being fed by any of his sons was mortifying, so he had of course protested, despite realising that Raphael was probably right. He was too weak to do much himself. The multitude of broken bones in his body made even breathing painful, and his left arm was completely immobilised in a cast and strapped to his chest. Splinter thought it particularly unfortunate he was left handed.

Raphael had a vast amount of experience being the patient under Donatello’s care and it appeared he had picked up on some of his brother’s tricks.

“I can feed myself Raphael”

“I’m not convinced, but go ahead”

Lifting the spoon in his right hand, Splinter felt it shake. He knew immediately he was going to prove his son right, but at this point he was committed.

As expected the first spoonful barely made it to his mouth. In order to eat, Raphael had propped him up on a multitude of pillows so he was more upright, but even the small movement had caused his cracked ribs to ache.

“Why don’t we make a deal?” suggested Raphael, an impish grin covering his green face

“What kind of deal?” replied Splinter, trying hard to ignore the soup that had splashed onto him

“If ya let me help you, I’ll tell ya everything you want to know about the house and search”

It was a good offer. Splinter had been trying since he had awoken to prise information out of his sons, April and Casey. They were all reluctant to tell him any of what was going on. He was also aware Chaplin was in the lair, but he had been kept in the dark over that too. Every time someone came to see him, they would dance around his questions while telling him to rest and they would take care of it. How could he rest, two of his sons were missing! He missed them. Donatello would normally be flitting around the infirmary, while Michelangelo would try to entertain him.

Glancing again at the soup, Splinter knew what he had to do.

“Alright, Raphael. However, you will also never speak of this again” he countered, already keen to forget being fed by his son

“Ok, but you agree that you won’t stress out no matter what I tell ya” said Raphael

“Fine”

Leaning closer, Raphael whispered conspiratorially “Besides, if Leo heard you were stressed he might authorise another nap time”

Glaring at the red masked turtle who was now grinning at him, Splinter found it hard to stay annoyed. The fact his family was treating him as a child was somewhat humiliating, but if it kept Raphael occupied, he didn’t mind. When Leonardo had visited him earlier he had expressed concern that Raphael may leave the lair alone and asked Splinter to keep him occupied. Splinter was no fool. Even half conscious, and in a considerable amount of pain he could see straight through Leonardo. The blue masked turtle hoped that caring for him would keep Raphael in the lair, and hoped that Splinter occupying Raphael’s time would keep his mind off the search for Donatello and Michelangelo. In effect, he wanted them both out of the way, but was trying to be polite about it. Splinter found he couldn’t be angry at his eldest son. The few times he had seen him, he had appeared stressed and Splinter knew he was carrying a huge burden in having to lead the family.

That’s not to say, he was a willing patient. Splinter had inevitably needed to relieve himself since waking up and Raphael’s insistence on helping him had irritated him. Was there no privacy? He had unfortunately been forced to accept Raphael helping him to the bathroom, there was no way he was going to do his business in the bottle Raphael had presented him with. His son had practically had to carry him to the bathroom, he was so weak but fortunately the red masked turtle had seemed amused rather than annoyed with him. Personally, Splinter blamed his broken ankle. Along with every other broken bone, the stitches across his chest and his body's generally unwell state.

_“This would have been easier if you’d used the bottle” muttered Raphael, his father’s good arm slung across his shoulders_

_“Some things are meant to be private” grumbled Splinter_

_“Don’t worry I’ll close my eyes”_

_“You had better. You will never breathe a word of this to anyone else” threatened Splinter when in the bathroom. Thankfully everyone else in the lair was either asleep or searching for the missing turtles_

_“My lips are sealed”_

_To illustrate his commitment to the deal, Raphael turned his mask around so his eyes were covered and continued to hold Splinter upright. For his part, Splinter felt the humiliation might never end. A rational part of him argued his need for independence was stupid and his throbbing, broken body seemed to agree; but after being forced to act as an animal for a week with Karai, Splinter was desperate to reassert some control over his life. Sadly, he began to wish he’d used the bottle._

_“Don’t feel bad if ya miss” consoled Raphael, hearing his Fathers struggle_

_“Raphael…” growled Splinter_

_“You are left handed, after all”_

_“I’m also a Ninja”_

_“I ain’t judging” replied Raphael with a shrug “Ya did potty train us after all”_

_“True. Now be quiet”_

_“Leo always had the worst aim” continued Raphael, ignoring Splinters growing agitation_

_“I remember” muttered Splinter, as Raphael helped him to the sink_

_“Ha, Mr Perfect couldn’t hit the bowl. Funniest thing ever”_

_“Because you didn’t have to clean up”_

_“The look of concentration on his face was priceless”_

_“You know he is a perfectionist”_

_His business complete, Splinter felt whatever meagre strength he had leave him as Raphael carried him back to the infirmary. The small exertion had exhausted him._

_“Who potty trained you?”_

_“Raphael…” he growled, threatening his son to continue this line of thought_

_“It’s hardly a Ninja skill you’d have learnt”_

_“Clearly it is a skill I have not fully mastered” he sighed, recalling his rather embarrassing attempt_

_“It’s cool, you have an excuse. Leo just couldn’t figure out how to aim”_

Splinter decided to blame his tiredness and the pain for going along with the conversation. It was certainly not a topic he would normally discuss. The small bathroom excursion had been a very painful reminder of his injuries and the long recovery he now faced. Sadly, he sensed another bathroom trip with Raphael was not just likely; it was inevitable.

 “Hey, Sensei you ok?” said Raphael with concern

Splinter realised he had been staring into space, while the turtle sat ready to feed him.

“I’m fine” he said quickly “I hope you are good at telling stories, my son”

With that Splinter reluctantly accepted Raphael’s help, while the turtle explained everything that had happened since the attack on the rooftop over a week ago.

The bowl of soup was soon gone, and still Raphael talked. Splinters heart clenched as he heard all of the details. They had gone to that house to save him. If Donatello and Michelangelo were hurt, Splinter would blame himself. He could feel panic building as he heard Chaplin was in the lair, the man could so easily betray them.

“- so last I heard Chaplin thinks he has a lead on some bases Karai might be using” finished Raphael

Swallowing down his worry, Splinter said “Thank you for telling me, Raphael”

“It’s ok. The others didn’t want ya to know yet, but I’d hate not knowing too”

“I appreciate you looking after me, my son, but perhaps it would be better If you helped your brother with the search”

“There’s nothing for me to do yet. As soon as it’s time to bash some heads I’ll be there, don’t worry” replied Raphael, leaning back in his chair

The silence stretched on for a few minutes, before Raphael spoke. Hesitation clear in his voice.

“Ya know ya don’t have to pretend you’re ok, right? April knows. I mean, she gets why you’re a bit nervous around her”

Splinter felt shame burning his through him. April was like family, yet whenever she came to see him he could feel himself become edgy and nervous.  The first few hours after he had come home, he had jumped at every contact but had since forced himself to control it. He tried to pretend he was fine when April came and sat with him, but every instinct in him was screaming danger. Raphael was right, she did seem to understand. She kept her distance and tried to make small talk with him, and Splinter felt ashamed for acting so oddly around her. In truth he believed it was because she was a human woman; the two things she had in common with Karai. Although Splinter barely considered Karai human anymore. He knew it was deeply unfair to April, who had done her best to care for him.

“Thank you, Raphael” muttered Splinter, unsure what else to say

At that moment, Casey Jones appeared in the doorway seeming unsure of himself.

“Yo Raph, Leo wants to see ya. Hey Master Splinter”

“Mr Jones” replied Splinter quietly

“Sure thing Case” said Raphael leaving his seat

“You gonna be ok on your own?” he asked, looking at Splinter

“I’ll survive” replied Splinter drily

Now alone in the infirmary, Splinter let his mask drop. He was trying to remain positive for his family. They had no time to worry about him. At least when Raphael was around, there was someone to distract him. The dark voice in his mind was a constant presence, whispering dark truths in his ear, reminding him of his failures. Whenever he closed his eyes, he was reminded. He could still feel her hands on him and he found himself shuddering. He couldn’t meditate, he couldn’t focus.

Now, his mind whirred with the terrible thoughts of what his sons may be suffering.

* * *

Locked within his own mind, Donatello tried desperately to think of a plan. He felt like he had abandoned Michelangelo but the high frequency noises had eventually become too much and he had reluctantly entered a meditative state. The art of meditation wasn't something Donatello had ever cared for, but it was a necessary part of his training and now he was grateful for it. It had taken him much longer than it should have to enter meditation because of the constant sound around him, but the relief when he did was immense. Very distantly he could still hear the dreadful noise, but now he could think. His scattered mind could come together again.

The only downside being he was no longer monitoring what was happening to his brother. The last he had seen had truly scared him, however. His little brother was trapped in a tunnel. Donatello had put him there.

 _'Stupid!'_ His mind screamed at him

How could he have chosen phobia? When he had been forced to choose, he was half out of his mind. He had said the first door he thought of. If he had been thinking, he never would have chosen that.

Because of his choice, Michelangelo was trapped in a living nightmare.

Desperately he reflected on the past few days of captivity, searching for something that could help them escape.

As far as he could see, Karai’s plan was airtight.

The purple masked turtle had spent the entire time immobilized in the chair. Magnetic cuffs around his wrists and ankles held him prisoner. The only times he had been allowed to move were brief bathroom visits, and when he had been fed. Any thoughts of rebellion were squashed as Michelangelo was used as leverage over him.

Misbehave and he pays the price.

The Foot soldiers were disciplined, and well trained. The purple clad turtle had yet to find any flaw in Karai’s game he could exploit.

Continuing to focus on his breathing, Donatello held his meditative state. The sound couldn't reach him here. Despite being in a deep meditation, Donatello was not completely oblivious to what was going on around him. He had sensed someone enter the room.

No, two people.

A moment later he felt sticky pads being attached to his body and something being placed on his head. His every instinct screamed at him to break the trance and see what was going on, but he held on. He knew if he broke his meditation, the sound would overwhelm him. It was still there, in the distance. If he let the sound overcome him again, he doubted he would be able to gather the focus needed to meditate again.

 _'Focus'_ he urged himself

For the next few minutes, he was numb to the hands attaching wires to his body. He was dimly aware of the people leaving the room.

Nothing happened for the next few minutes, and then everything changed.

An electrical shock jolted through the turtle, shaking him out of meditation and back to his immediate reality.

The shock was painful, but the moment he returned to reality the sound hit him full force. Donatello would have preferred to be continually beaten than subject to the noise that now assaulted him. It invaded his mind and fought against his rational thoughts. After the first shock, a series of smaller shocks targeted different parts of his body. First his arms, then it moved to cause intense shocks in his left leg.

Dimly he noticed what had been done. He had been connected up to a series of wires that covered his body and were now being used to remotely electrocute him. Some kind of helmet was strapped to his head, and if Donatello had been capable of thinking he might have realised it was monitoring his brain activity.

He tried to return to meditation; to escape. Every attempt he made, the shocks jolted him and he swore the sounds were getting worse. Rather than a single noise, a series of different frequencies overlapped each other vying to hurt him.

The screen still showed Michelangelo, trapped alone in the vent.

Where were the others?

Was no-one coming to help them?

Donatello slumped in the chair as the sound assaulted him, various jolts of electricity targeted his body randomly. Alternating randomly between small jolts and burning agony.

Was this it?

Is this is how Splinter had felt when they failed to rescue him?

Desperately Donatello’s mind tried to shut down and pass out, but each time he came close he was shocked back to his reality.

There was no escaping this. How was he supposed to help his brother when he couldn’t help himself?


	17. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a bit late! Thanks to everyone who is still reading!

**Chapter 16**

Fresh air whipped Raphael’s mask tails backwards as he silently but swiftly travelled over the rooftops. Leonardo was moving in sync with him to the left, while Casey was making an admirable attempt at stealth on the other side of the leader. Adrenaline surged through Raphael as he thought of what was hopefully going to happen tonight. If all went to plan, they would have Michelangelo and Donatello safe and Karai dead by the morning.

His eldest brother had called him into the kitchen earlier today to tell him the news. Chaplin and April had pinned down the most likely building the Foot were using and they were going to strike tonight. The rest of the day had been a whirlwind of preparation and planning. They had, of course, had to decide who was going tonight. Himself and Leonardo were a given. Casey had also been eager to come along, but that left the problem of leaving Chaplin in the lair with April and Splinter.

Eventually, Splinter had convinced them it would be fine and April agreed. Raphael was still undecided on the human scientist. Chaplin seemed to be helping them, but he was still Foot and that alone was cause for suspicion. Leaping gracefully to the next rooftop, Raphael landed on silent feet and continued running. They were getting close.

They were all wearing their headsets, and April was monitoring their progress from the lair where Splinter had insisted on being moved to the main room. They had been reluctant to move him but April thought a change of position would be good for him, and hopefully prevent him getting too sore in bed. They had set him up in his usual armchair and propped his broken ankle up while April set up her laptop and maps on the coffee table. April had been walking on egg shells around Splinter and had been trying hard to regain his trust. The red masked turtle was grateful she was being so understanding and patient. She hadn’t been the one to hurt him after all, and yet she was paying the price. Hopefully leaving the two of them alone in the lair would help Splinter feel more comfortable around her again. Raphael knew it hurt his Father to act so strangely with April, he could see the shame in his eyes every time he pulled away from her.

They hadn’t really been sure what to do with Chaplin. He wasn’t exactly a prisoner, but Raphael and Leonardo weren’t keen on letting him near Splinter either.  Thankfully the man had agreed to stay in the spare room and sleep while they were out. Raphael got the sense he was eager to not offend them in any way, and a wicked grin crossed the red masked turtles face. Good. He should be afraid of them.

“We’re here” announced Leonardo, his voice a whisper in the dark night

As one they stopped at the edge of the rooftop. They had chosen to stop on the roof of a slightly higher building that overlooked their target. Glancing downwards, Raphael could make out a sloped roof of what had once been a mechanics shop. The building itself was relatively small and had garage space out the back. For once, Raphael was grateful that Chaplin had helped them. This hardly seemed like a Foot hideout. It was situated in the middle of a run down, but still busy street. The mechanics shop itself was boarded up and from the outside looked like it hadn't been touched for months.

"You sure about this, Leo?" whispered Casey, clearly thinking the same as Raphael

"In the house, the Foot base was located below ground. We think this is probably the same kind of thing" replied Leonardo

"Fine, let's just go" cut in Raphael, his impatience growing

He had tried hard to reign his temper in while taking care of Splinter, every time he saw his injuries he was ready to explode. But now he had an opportunity to blow off some steam and make sure revenge was served.

"Ok, let's go" sighed Leonardo before making his way silently to the ground

The plan was relatively simple. Chaplin and April had theorized there would be an entrance to the Foot base in the garage part of the building, but they had to get there without being seen. Although the building seemed abandoned it was almost certain there would be security measures in place, and they had no way of knowing where or what they were. It had been decided they would use stealth to enter the building and if things went wrong they would try to force their way in. It wasn't the most detailed of plans, but they had very little information to go on. They were only certain of one thing; their brother's would be freed tonight.

Leonardo took the lead as they approached the metal gate that surrounded the building. In silence, they vaulted the fence before making their way across the empty ground to the side of the garage. So far, so good.

The side of the garage they were sheltering next to had been chosen because of the windows located above them. The garage itself wasn't huge, but the windows did require them to boost each other up in order to reach them.

Raphael was immensely surprised when the window Leonardo tried opened straight away. This all seemed too easy, but still they had to go on. There was no way they were going to leave here tonight without their brothers. Raphael couldn't stand the thought of them suffering. He promised himself, when he saw Karai she would pay for every injury and torment she had inflicted on his family.

Dropping silently to the ground next to Leonardo and Casey, Raphael was surprised to find the garage near empty. A few boxes lined the walls, but the area was otherwise empty.

"So what exactly are we supposed to be looking for?" asked Casey, clearly unimpressed with the garage

"According to April and Chaplin, there should be an entrance concealed in here. Before Chaplin was fired, he said Karai was planning to use underground bases"

"I ain't seeing a trapdoor Leo" replied Raphael, glancing around the area

"Spread out and search" ordered the leader, refusing to be deterred

The next few minutes passed silently as the garage was searched, not that there was much to search. The room was empty and the floor seemed solid.

"This is stupid" growled Raphael, "I bet Chaplin set us up!"

"It's not like we had any other leads Raph" defended Leonardo, reluctantly ending his search

"We left him in our home, with April and Splinter"

"I don't believe he's a threat"

"Yeah, and your instincts are always right" snorted Raphael, crossing his arms over his chest

"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Leonardo stepping closer to his brother

"You know what it means"

"Care to enlighten me" ground out Leonardo

"Your instincts also had you trusting Karai for a while. All those second chances you gave her!"

"This is different" retorted the leader, his patience wearing thin

"No it ain't. I was right then and I'm right now!"

"I don't remember you giving me any better suggestions. The decision making always falls to me!"

"You ain't the one paying the price though!"

At that, Leonardo stopped like he'd been slapped. Raphael, however, showed no sign of letting up as his frustration and anger reached boiling point.

"You go on about the burden of leadership and we all know ya love being in charge. You chose to trust Karai one too many times and look what happened! She did horrible things to Splinter and shell knows what she's doing to Donnie and Mikey!"

"Hey, you guys..." cut in Casey who had decided to ignore the arguing turtles and continued to search

"What do you want from me Raph? I should take your approach and just punch everyone? I wanted to believe there was good in her" ranted Leonardo, muscles tight with tension

“You still think there is” challenged Raphael with a snarl

"Clearly I was wrong" he added quietly

"Yo, guys" called Casey again

Hearing the hurt and guilt in his elder brothers voice, Raphael felt the fight drain out of him. He hadn't wanted to argue with Leonardo, but he needed him to understand. There could be no more chances for Karai.

"Hey, boneheads!" shouted Casey for the third time, finally catching the turtles attention

"What?" questioned both turtles, turning to face their friend. The air hung heavily between them.

"If you two are finished, I think I found the entrance" he announced proudly, pointing towards the back wall

The turtles looked at each other.

"Casey, you know that's a wall not a door, right?" questioned Leonardo tiredly

"You need us to draw ya a picture or something?" asked Raphael

"No!" said Casey "the wall has a fake part"

Leonardo and Raphael stared at Casey as if he had finally lost his mind.

“Ok” said Leonardo “show us what you mean”

With a smug grin, Casey reached down and grabbed hold of a rat that had been scurrying through the basement. It was the rat that had helped in his discovery, after all. While looking aimlessly around the garage, he had noticed the rat running along the length of the wall, except when the rat had gotten just past the midway point of the wall it had disappeared as if the wall had swallowed it. Casey had looked on in amazement as the rat reappeared again a moment later and continued scurrying, oblivious to the puzzle it had just solved.

With a dramatic flourish, Casey pressed the rat in his hand lightly along the wall until its head disappeared in the bricks.

“Woah” said both turtles, hope reigniting in their eyes

“Told ya I wasn’t stupid” declared Casey, with a broad grin

“Not bad Jones” agreed Raphael “Let’s stick your head in then”

* * *

"-Ok, so you're entering the base? Good. Keep us updated" said April before she clicked off the microphone she was using and slumped back onto the worn couch. Since Casey and the turtles had left she had set up base in the main room and was currently surrounded by a multitude of maps and her laptop. She was keeping in touch with the guys and trying to monitor their location as well as she could with the GPS on their headsets. They had no schematics for the underground base and it left them with very little to work with.

April couldn't help but feel helpless, and when she glanced to her right she felt even more so. In a way she wished they hadn't banished Chaplin to the spare room. He could have helped and she might not have felt so awkward being alone with Splinter. Sighing inwardly, April knew it was for the best. They were trying not to cause him any distress and they weren't sure how he would react to the scientist, despite the help he had provided them. Personally, she didn't think Chaplin was tricking them. He looked at the turtles in fascination and scientific curiosity, not maliciously. So April understood why keeping him away from Splinter right now was the best plan. The man would surely be as fascinated with him as he was the turtles and it was clear to April, Splinter did not want any attention.

The Ninja Master had insisted on being let out of bed and the turtles had relented as long as he promised to relax. They had set him up in his favourite arm chair along from April, and she couldn't help but think it was a sneaky way of trying to make him comfortable around her. Since the two had been left alone, Splinter had sat quietly before finally falling asleep. She had tried to talk to him and told him all the details of what the turtles were doing tonight but she could tell he was uncomfortable.

From the way he wouldn't meet her eyes to the quiet, polite replies, April knew he wasn't at ease around her and she felt horrible for making him feel like that in his own home. Mentally, April cursed Karai again. She cursed her for hurting her friends. She cursed her for making her friend afraid of her.

It was the truth, no matter how hard Splinter tried to hide it. When April had found out what Karai had done to him she had done a lot of research into it. She had searched desperately for what she could do to help him heal, and knew what signs to look out for. Watching her sleeping friend, April saw him twitch and shudder slightly in his sleep and her heart broke.

It had become clear to April over the last couple of days Splinter blamed himself and was ashamed. He had become very shy and withdrawn, he avoided physical contact but more specifically he avoided human contact. Raphael had told her he wasn't sleeping well and seemed to be zoning out a lot. All in all, he was displaying behaviour typical for abuse victims and April feared it would take a long time to heal. She only hoped Karai wasn't doing the same to Michelangelo and Donatello. If she had so much as touched them, April would tear her apart, Ninja or not.

Glancing back at her computer screen, April watched the tiny dots that showed her friends moving under the garage towards the mechanics shop. Based on what Leonardo had just told her, they were underground as Chaplin predicted.

Turning her attention back to Splinter, she saw the rat was struggling in his sleep, clearly becoming more agitated. He shouldn't be moving that much.

"Master Splinter" she called gently hoping to wake him from whatever nightmare he was having

Instead, his struggling intensified as if he was fighting an invisible enemy.

"No, no..." He muttered in his sleep as his movements became more violent

"Master Splinter" she tried again, rising from the couch and walking cautiously towards his arm chair.

From here, she could see the tension in his body as he squirmed in his chair, groaning in pain as he aggravated his injuries. That was when she noticed the crimson stain slowly seeping through the bandages that covered his chest. He had torn at least some of the stitches in his sleep.

Moving closer, April lightly touched his right arm and shook him.

"Wake up!" she called to him, fearing more damage would be done

At the contact Splinters eyes flew open and he recoiled backwards in the chair pulling his arm away. April could hear his wheezing breaths and she immediately stood back from him as he became aware of reality once more.

"It's ok" she said gently "you're ok"

A moment passed in silence, as Splinter became aware of what was happening.

"You were having a nightmare" she said softly, seeing he was now completely awake

"I'm sorry" whispered Splinter, guilt and shame clear in his eyes

"It's ok" she soothed moving closer to him "I think you pulled some stitches though"

Splinter glanced down at the bandages to see red stains spreading, along with the ache in his chest indicating he had reopened a wound. Judging by the spread of blood it was probably the large slash that cut diagonally across his chest.

"I'm fine" he said, his eyes begging April to believe him

"That will need to be stitched again" she explained, trying hard to remain calm as she watched the panic rise in him

She knew this would be difficult. If one of the turtles was here, they would be able to do it without distressing Splinter. There was only her and Chaplin here; she would have to do it.

"It's fine" Splinter said, and April knew he was desperate to avoid what would need to happen

"It's not. That needs stitching or you could get an infection" reinforced April

"No, please. Help my sons" he implored, glancing at the laptop

April paused, unsure what to do. Splinter was still shaking slightly and his breathing was laboured, April knew he was trying to control himself. Control his emotions.

"The guys are fine" she decided, "I’ll get Chaplin out here to keep an eye on their progress while I fix you up. Ok?"

Splinter looked so lost and unsure of himself, April knew he was struggling. He needed help and she would help him whether he liked it or not.

"Dr Chaplin" called April in the direction of the bedrooms, hoping the scientist wasn't asleep

"Yes April" came a timid replied, as the scientist appeared in the doorway of the bedroom after a moment

"I need your help"

At that Chaplin left the bedroom and hesitantly approached April and Splinter. The scientist tried to focus on April but cast the occasional glance at Splinter who had his eyes closed, trying hard to control his breathing.

"Can you go on the head set to the guys and keep an eye on things?" she asked him, indicating with her eyes to do as she asked

"Oh, uh sure" he replied, having noticed the blood stained bandages on Splinters chest.

Seeing Chaplin take up the position she had been in before, April turned her attention back to Splinter.

"Come on, let's get that fixed up" she said, offering him a small smile.


	18. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who had read this story so far and left comments. I'm back at uni so updates may be slightly slower, I'm still aiming for at least one new chapter a week!

**Chapter 17**

Michelangelo was numb.

He was trapped in this hellish nightmare with no possible escape.

He had no idea how long he had been trapped in the air vent, both the way back and the way forwards blocked, but to the turtle it could have been forever. He couldn’t move; his arms were stuck in front of himself and it was totally dark. When he thought things couldn’t get worse, he had been proven wrong. The temperature in the air vent had dropped to near freezing and it had started to fill with cold water. The orange masked turtle had honestly believed they were going to drown him in this cold, dark tunnel. The water had filled in slowly, chilling the turtle to his core. He had panicked, lashing out at the walls as well as he could from this position but had only succeeded in bashing his hands open.

Eventually, he had tired himself out. At that point the water had been high enough to cover his limbs and he had struggled to keep his head out of the freezing liquid in the enclosed space. His death seemed inevitable.

As he shivered violently, he had felt something change. The water seemed to fall away from him and the cold air turned to hot air, giving him some desperately needed warmth.

 _‘I’m being rescued’_ he had thought, hope swelling in his chest

His hope was crushed not a minute later.

The warm air that had once been welcome had turned scorching, burning his skin. The air was hot. Too hot to breathe.

He wasn’t being rescued; the game had changed.

Michelangelo had no idea how long he had been trapped in the air vent but after the scorching heat the vent filled again with freezing air and water. This time the water had risen higher before draining again to be replaced with an even more intense heat.

Michelangelo knew the cycle had repeated at least three times, but he was too numb to care. His body didn’t feel like his own and he wanted nothing more than to sleep. He couldn’t though. If he slept in this tunnel the water would cover his head and he would drown, as it was he was struggling to keep his face out of the water anyway.

He barely noticed when the water drained out and the cold air stopped; his battered body seemed to have shut down.  Michelangelo knew the system now, next the heat would come.

He waited.

When nothing happened, Michelangelo became confused. He was soaking wet and shivered violently as he waited for something to happen.

Is this the end?

Wait.

What was that poking his leg?

Gradually, he became aware of a multitude of sharp objects poking his body. The sharp points continued to extend, jabbing into his legs, arms and shell. He couldn’t see anything but he could feel everything. Any sudden movements would drive the sharp points further into his body and he forced himself to stay still.

This kind of torture had a name, and for a moment he struggled to think of it.

Iron maiden.

Yes, this was like the iron maiden thing he’d seen on TV once. It was Donatello who had been watching the history program.

From what he could feel, the metal spikes were pressing in on him from the sides and above him; there were none below him. He was helpless to do anything and tried to press himself closer to the solid floor so the spikes wouldn’t reach him. It didn’t help, much. He could feel the spikes pressing into his skin and he was sure he heard a couple of small cracks where they were pressed into his shell.

If anything, he felt more claustrophobic as the small space became even smaller. It was then he noticed the bottom of the vent he was lying on seemed to be getting colder. Unable to move an inch in any direction, Michelangelo was forced to stay still as the air vent became colder.

There was nothing he could do, no way to escape the torment and no sign of any rescue. In that moment, Michelangelo felt anger. Why was he here? This wasn't fair. Why couldn't Karai leave them alone?

The vent floor was freezing now, but Michelangelo felt his anger burn.

Was this it? Was there truly nothing in this life for them but pain and death?

Unable to release his rage physically he screamed into the oppressive darkness, and followed it up with a string of curse words aimed at Karai.

Alone in the darkness, Michelangelo released his pent up emotions into the nothingness that surrounded him. What did it matter? He was destined to die here anyway.

* * *

Splinter tried hard to bite back the groan of pain that was threatening to escape him. Since returning home he had tried to sleep lightly in order to avoid the nightmares that plagued his mind, but that had resulted in him getting hardly any rest. He was exhausted and had finally surrendered to sleep at the most inconvenient time.

He didn't remember falling asleep. He was sat in the lair with April one second, and the next he was trapped in his mind. He dreamed he was captured, at Karai’s mercy again. She was humiliating him, touching and degrading him while he was helpless. He tried to fight back but it was like his limbs were made of air. No matter how hard he tried to strike the woman it did no damage. He was so weak; he had never felt so weak. The dream changed. His sons were there watching and laughing at him. They mocked him over and over again as Karai degraded him. The dream changed a final time to Master Yoshi standing over him.

'You dishonour me' he had said

Splinter begged him for forgiveness in the nightmare. The tattoo on his arm glowed bright red, burning him as Yoshi looked at him in disgust, before turning his back on him. It was too much. Karai’s cruelty. His sons mockery. Master Yoshi disowning him.

He had woken to April shaking him awake and had immediately pulled away from her. The nightmare had felt all too real; indeed some of it had been true. He felt ashamed for allowing his mind to control him. He had been restless in the grip of the nightmare and torn some stitches.  If the blood stained bandages didn't make it obvious, the burning in his chest did. April was his friend, she had been nothing but kind to him and he continued to avoid her. Splinter had tried to avoid her help and begged her to focus her efforts on his sons, but she would not hear of it. Chaplin had been called out to stay in contact with his sons while April cared for him.

He had tried to avoid the realisation, but he was in fact afraid. He knew April would have to come close to him to fix the stitches and he knew part of himself was broken. All the things he and his family had been through over the years, and a week with Karai had caused the most damage. April had taken charge of the situation, while he tried to calm himself. She had asked Chaplin to bring him into the infirmary and the scientist had carefully helped Splinter to the room where he now sat in Donatello’s examination chair. It had previously been a dentist's chair but his sons had salvaged it for the infirmary.

Splinter was so tired. His nightmarish struggle had caused him to twist and strain his battered body and the pain had made him unable to resist as Chaplin half dragged him to the infirmary, before returning to the main part of the lair. April was bustling about gathering bandages and other medical supplies, leaving Splinter to his thoughts.

He couldn't go on like this. His inner peace was gone and he felt unbalanced. Leonardo had yesterday brought Master Yoshi’s orb to him, thinking it might lift his father's spirits, and Splinter had thanked his eldest son. But, he couldn't do it. Meditation was impossible for him right now, and he couldn't face Master Yoshi. It was only a memory of Yoshi that lived in the orb but Splinter still feared facing it. How could he look Master Yoshi in the eye knowing what had been done to him?

"Ok, let's have a look at those stitches" said April, pulling Splinter from his thoughts. She was sat on a stool next to the chair and smiled at him reassuringly.

"I’ll try to be gentle, but we'll have to take your arm out of the sling and unwrap your shoulder and chest to see the injury" she continued

April was explaining everything to him. She was trying not to surprise him, and Splinter felt another pang of guilt at the way he was behaving towards her. He was treating her like an enemy.

"Ok" he said quietly, refusing to meet her eyes

April took this as a positive sign, and reached over to untie the sling from behind his neck. Splinter groaned slightly as the stiff limb was placed carefully on the arm of the chair. The small movement had caused his shoulder to throb and his arm felt weak from the lack of use. April sat back on the stool and looked at him patiently. It took him a minute to realise she was waiting for him.

To get to his chest and shoulder, his robe would need to be moved out of the way. Panic built slightly in Splinter. He didn't want to feel vulnerable again. This time he forced himself to think rationally. He was being ridiculous. The wound in his chest was still bleeding and every moment April wasted with him was a moment she could have been helping his sons. Calming himself, Splinter reached up with his right arm to try and pull his robe down, but the movement sent ripples of pain through his cracked ribs.

"Do you need help?" Asked April quietly, her green eyes focused on his reaction

"I...yes, please" he relented

Quickly April helped him slip the robe off his shoulders exposing the heavy bandages around his chest and shoulder.

"This might hurt" she warned "you need to stay very still"

He only nodded in response, before she began unwrapping the bandages. Splinter tried to stay still and fight the instinct to pull away; he managed it for the most part but the tension in his body was undeniable.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Asked April as she worked

"About what?" He asked cautiously

"Anything" she answered peeling the blood stained bandages from his chest.

Splinter stayed very still, trying to block out the pain in his body.

"I know you've been through a lot but if you want to talk about it, or the nightmares or anything you can talk to me. I know you have the guys, but I just thought you might not feel comfortable talking to them about it since you're their Father and if you need a friendly ear you can tell me" rushed April, before looking him straight in the eyes

"You guys are like family to me and you know I'd do anything for you, right?" she said with deep sincerity

If Splinter felt guilty before, he felt even more so now.

"April, I'm sorry" he said, deep regret in his eyes "I've treated you very poorly. You are family; I should not act so strangely towards you. It is not something you deserve"

"It's fine" said April squeezing his right hand "I know it’s not your fault"

"It isn't yours either"

"It's ok" she reassured "you're safe now and the guys will all be back soon. Everything will be fine"

"Thankyou" said Splinter, offering April a small smile. He felt some of the tension ease out of him as April examined the rather gruesome slash that crossed his body. She wouldn't hurt him. She wasn't Karai.

"Ok, this is going to need to be stitched up again. About eight stitches have pulled and some of the others look close to going. I’ll have to clean it too" announced April, gathering the necessary equipment "I'm sorry Master Splinter, but this will hurt"

"Do what you must" muttered Splinter bracing himself.

"This is going to leave an interesting scar" observed April, feeling Splinter flinch as she cleaned the wound. At least now he wasn't flinching from her, and to April that made all the difference.

They chatted lightly as April did the stitches and wrapped fresh bandages around his ribs and shoulder, before immobilizing his arm once again. By the end of it Splinter was exhausted and April seemed tired too, but they had finally had the chance to talk.

Seeing Splinter growing tired, April offered him some relief.

"Are you having trouble sleeping? I can give you something that will take the edge off the pain and help you rest" she asked, eyeing him with concern

Normally, Splinter would refuse, but he needed help. He was beginning to realise and accept that he couldn't do everything alone.

"Ok April. Nothing too strong?" He said hesitantly

"Of course" she quickly agreed, preparing the injection

As April helped him to the bed in the infirmary, Splinter tried to push away the guilt. He had wanted to wait for his sons to return, but it was clear he could offer no help right now. Besides, he trusted April to help them.

"This will help you sleep for a couple of hours" she said, after administering the injection

"I trust you" muttered Splinter, already drifting to sleep. His body desperate for the rest he had denied it.

April smiled warmly at him, before covering him with the blankets and leaving the room. She felt better knowing Splinter was starting to heal. Now her mind turned to her turtle friends and what they were doing. She only hoped they would all come out of this okay.


	19. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a bit late, I've been really busy!

**Chapter 18**

Leonardo strained his senses to make sure they hadn't been discovered as he led Raphael and Casey through Karai’s base of operation. This had to be where their brothers were being held. He couldn't fail them again. Already, Leonardo felt he had messed up. He'd been so distracted arguing with his brother he hadn't noticed the hidden entrance until Casey discovered it. The wall had a small section which was fake, concealed by some type of projection. They had quickly forced themselves through the small opening and came into a very narrow section of the building that had forced them to stand single file. As Chaplin had predicted, there was a trap door.

If it hadn't been for Casey they might have left without finding it. They wouldn't be making their way through the enemy’s base right now if Leonardo had made the decision. He couldn't help but blame himself. He should have been paying more attention. Leonardo was almost certain they would have triggered some kind of silent alarm upon entering the deep underground base; after all April and Chaplin had been unable to hack into the security system. Perhaps luck was on their side, they had yet to encounter anyone in the base but were moving with every ounce of stealth they possessed.

Creeping through the cool, underground tunnels Leonardo was reminded of the previous base where Splinter had been held. Bland, cold walls closed in from all sides and every corridor seemed identical to the last. They hadn't been in the base long when the voice of Chaplin crackles over the headsets informing them he was covering for April. Raphael and Casey had immediately bristled; both assuming the worst of the scientist. Chaplin must have realised the panic he had caused and April's voice appeared quickly to reassure them. Splinters stitches had came open and she was going to take care of him, hence why Chaplin was on the radio. Raphael, if anything had become more agitated and began muttering to himself about the number of times he had told their Father to rest.

The blue clad turtle had smirked at his hot-headed brother grumbling about an uncooperative patient; it was how Donatello normally talked about him. At the thought of his purple masked sibling Leonardo felt that all too familiar worry burn inside him. Were his brothers’ ok? He doubted it.

The base provided almost no shadowed areas; a major disadvantage to a Ninja, but also a disadvantage to the Foot. It was when they turned down the next hall they came face to face with 15 heavily armed Foot Soldiers. This corridor was wider than the ones they had previously travelled through and angled downwards towards a single door.

Leonardo hardly needed to guess the Foot soldiers were here to defend the room that more than likely held at least one of his missing brothers.

"Stand aside" threatened Leonardo drawing his Katana; the Foot soldiers remained motionless in their position.

"Oh, I've been waiting for this" said Raphael, withdrawing his own weapons

"It's so creepy how they do that" Casey complained, the Foot soldiers standing as still and silent as statues

"We waste no time on them. Get to the room and get our brothers out. Casey go left, Raph go right. I'll take the middle" ordered the leader as they broke into a charge towards the enemies

Almost instantly the corridor erupted into violence. Swords clashed and sparked as Leonardo's team fought furiously through the wave of opponents. Casey was wielding a baseball bat in one hand as he smashed his way through the Foot soldiers that assaulted them. Leonardo cast only a quick glance to ensure his brother and Casey were ok, his attention and energy was focused solely on getting to that room.

Slashing forwards with his Katana, the blue clad ninja quickly disarmed his opponent before kicking him square in the face. The Ninja dropped to the ground only to immediately be replaced by another, this time swinging a Bo staff towards his head.

To the eldest turtle, it took too long to reach the room and the sounds of combat behind him indicated Casey and Raphael were still battling the remaining Foot soldiers. Wasting no more time, Leonardo threw his weight against the door and he was surprised to find it gave easily, causing him to stumble into the room. His heart leapt as he saw Donatello in the middle of the room. The blue masked turtle was immediately assaulted by a piercing, high pitched sound that seemed to invade his mind. The sound made him pause and his Katana clattered to the ground. Turning out of the room to avoid the noise, Leonardo was dimly aware of Raphael having the same problem. His red masked brother stumbled and staggered as the sound assaulted him. There were two soldiers left standing. One was fighting Casey who didn't seem to be affected by the sound, while the other was now aiming a razor Sharp tanto at Raphael who was struggling to stand his ground; the noise robbing his ability to fight effectively.

"Raph!" shouted Leonardo in warning, trying to struggle to his feet

As the Ninja was about to slash down at Raphael, the Ninja Casey had been fighting was thrown into him, sending them both crashing down. Not missing a beat, Casey swung his hockey stick down on the Foot soldiers rendering them both unconscious. The hallway was splattered with blood, bodies and pieces of Casey's baseball bat. The weapon had not survived the battle forcing the vigilante to withdraw his hockey stick instead.

"What the hell is that noise?" roared Raphael covering his ear slits

"It's coming from the room" answered Leonardo painfully, forcing himself back into the room where he had seen Donatello.

"You pair of wimps" mocked Casey, strolling past the brothers towards the room "I can just about hear it"

"Casey..." threatened the leader, staggering into the room. Raphael close behind him.

"Aww man" mumbled Casey, his eyes fixed on the lone occupant of the room

Leonardo forced himself forwards and past Casey so he was looking straight at Donatello. The purple masked turtle was secured to a chair in the centre of the room with a multitude of wires running off his body. A helmet was fixed around his head that also had wires trailing away from it.

"Donnie..." whispered Leonardo, his mind torn between action and blocking out the sound

A moment later the sound stopped. Leonardo snapped out of his confusion and glanced around the room to see Casey standing over a smashed speaker. It seemed to have been disguised as an air vent, and Casey had pulled it from the wall and smashed it, returning clarity to the turtles.

Raphael shook his head as if to clear the last of the noise, while Leonardo moved closer to Donatello. Without that dreadful sound interfering with his mind, the leader noticed the things he had missed. The wires on Donatello were electrocuting him, and his brother was conscious but for some reason was staring straight ahead.

"Donnie, wake up!" growled Raphael moving to his brother's side.

Donatello did not respond and continued to stare straight ahead, his body twitching as he was shocked. Leonardo carefully eyed the wires that were connected to his brother and traced them back to a small box at the back of the room. The box itself was plain and black, the wires went into it but there were no buttons or monitors connected to it. Coming to a decision, Leonardo raised a Katana and slashed through all the wires, severing the connection to the box and ending the electrocution. They had to move quickly. Leonardo was seriously worried about Donatello but they had to find Michelangelo as well. Surely Karai would now know her guards had been defeated; more could be on the way. Raphael and Casey were working to extract Donatello from the chair and remove the wires, but Donatello continued to stare straight ahead.

Following his brother's gaze, Leonardo felt his blood run cold. Donatello hadn't been staring at nothing, he'd been staring at a screen.

A screen that showed Michelangelo.

"Mikey" whispered Donatello coarsely, catching the attention of Raphael and Casey.

Looking up, they saw both Donatello and Leonardo staring at the same place behind them. With a growing sense of horror, they turned wordlessly in that direction.

Michelangelo was lying on his carpace in a narrow tunnel. Metal spikes protruded around him and appeared to dig into his skin. Was this live footage?

From the little they could see on the screen, Michelangelo was in bad shape. They also had no idea where in the base he was being held.

The weight of leadership pressed heavily on Leonardo as anger ignited in his chest. He would not leave here without all of his brother's.

* * *

Karai tried to suppress the frown that threatened to spill across her face, she believed showing the emotion would be a sign of weakness. That was easier said than done, however. Somehow the turtles had found her base, and forced her to move out quicker than expected. This was not part of the plan. In truth, she had just about finished with the orange and purple turtles. The Foot were already moving into phase three, and the final stage of phase two would have been to lead Leonardo to the base. They had arrived before she had the chance however and triggered the alarm that covered the garage entrance.

That was another thing that puzzled her.

How had they managed to find the base? How did they know to look underground?

The unwelcome arrival of Leonardo had forced her to leave the base in a hurry and she was currently in the back of a well disguised van, heading towards their next location through a scenic route in case they were being followed. A small screen in one side of the van showed her current footage from the base they had just left. She had of course left some Foot soldiers behind to battle the intruders. They needed to be punished. How dare they interfere with her plan?

Karai let a small smirk show for a moment. Leonardo need not be impatient; his time would come. First, there was one more target on her list. One more family member to break, before she could take her vengeance on Leonardo. Yes. She would enjoy breaking Raphael.

Continuing to watch the footage, Karai noted they had retrieved Donatello and had now set off in search of Michelangelo. Her mind whirled with thoughts of what had to be done. Her Foot soldiers were better trained than her Father's had been, but had still been defeated too easily. They needed to be reminded failure would not tolerated. The fact the turtles found her base at all had left her mystified, particularly since she held the intelligent turtle captive. Was there a traitor?

No. That wasn't possible. There was no member of the Foot who had demonstrated any kind of hesitation with the plan or would be stupid enough to cross her. She could only assume they had gotten lucky. It was fortunate she had the foresight to prepare a number of alternative bases for her use. A large part of her plan relied on being unpredictable and untraceable. It was something she had learnt from watching the Shredder and what she had seen of Bishop and Stockman. If you kept to the same patterns you were doomed to suffer the same consequences. The plan would be modified accordingly as they moved into phase three. Her sharp mind combed every inch of the plan, every possible loose end she had cut. Still she could not see an opening that would give Leonardo an opportunity against her.

No matter. Their appearance had been an inconvenience but it did amuse her to watch Leonardo squirm in the grip of her plan. He had no control, no power and it was probably killing him.

The mighty Leonardo, helpless to protect the family he swore to defend. He was nothing more than a pawn, and soon he would be at her mercy. She would be certain to show him none. After all, he had shown no shred of remorse for taking her Father from her. Karai had no regrets for what she had done either.

She knew the torture she had inflicted on the rat and two of the turtles crossed lines many would not, but all was fair in war; and this was most certainly a war. Donatello may well have lost his mind in that room, and Karai was confident Michelangelo would be irreparably damaged by the trauma he had experienced. If he survived, that is. Ultimately that depended on how quickly his pathetic family found him.

Turning from the screen, Karai pulled out the file that detailed each phase of the plan. Every comment, every action, every torture had been carefully selected to cause maximum damage to the mutants. The science division had researched each method and predicted the long term effects of the torture. Each of the prisoners had been discreetly monitored to ensure the desired outcomes would be reached.

Now, she had the final report of the rat in front of her. By tomorrow she expected similar reports on Donatello and Michelangelo. The most irritating aspect of Leonardo's appearance today was the impact it may have on the final report. The science division had been forced to leave quickly and that had caused them to cut short the evaluation of each turtle. Before she had given the rat over to the turtles human friends he had been thoroughly examined by some of the scientists so they could more accurately predict the long term damage caused. Scanning through the report, it became clear to Karai that her plan had worked perfectly. The rat would likely experience continuous problems from his physical injuries, made more likely by their lack of access to medical assistance. What truly pleased Karai, however, was the evaluation of the rat’s psychological state. The evaluation predicted he was unlikely to ever fully recover from what he had been through, and Karai knew this. She had watched parts of him break away every time she inflicted a torture on him, or humiliated him.

Closing the report Karai allowed herself a small moment of contentment. She had succeeded where others had failed. Her plan was working and tomorrow she would read the evaluations of the turtles. They had all experienced a different kind of torture, but that was the point. To truly break them it had to be something they wouldn't expect. It had to be something that made them weak and turned their own strengths against them.

When she began this game with Leonardo, she did so as part of her solemn oath to get revenge for her Father. It was her duty. Karai had never expected to enjoy it so much.


	20. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who is still reading and commenting! Sorry its a bit late!

**Chapter 19**

"-April, we've got Donnie. We've seen footage of Mikey and he seems to be trapped in some kind of pipe. Do you have any idea where he might be located?" questioned Leonardo frantically into his head set

"Just take it easy bro" muttered Raphael as he passed his genius brother over to Casey.

They had no idea where to start looking for Michelangelo but Leonardo had decided it would be easier to get Donatello out first. The blue masked turtle felt the base had been evacuated and didn't expect to find any more Foot soldiers waiting for them. Nevertheless, they would need to proceed with extreme caution. Donatello was in a bad state and the footage of Michelangelo they had seen proved the youngest turtle was in just as much danger. They couldn't waste any more time. Casey would take Donatello out of the base and into the battle shell. They had parked the armoured van a few streets away and Chaplin would remotely navigate the vehicle to meet Casey and Donatello. The leader did not like the idea of splitting up but he realised it was the quickest solution.

"Chaplin and I have looked, Leo, but we don't have any plans for the base. Dr Chaplin said there was talk of an underground maze being constructed under one of the bases but he's not sure whether it actually got built or if it’s under your current location" replied April

"Ok, April. We will try to head lower down into the base, and keep you updated" replied a grim Leonardo. The lack of information was proving a real hindrance, but was unavoidable given the situation.

"How's Donnie?" asked April hesitantly, as if she feared the answer

"Not in immediate danger but needs medical care" confirmed the leader as he watched Casey lead his brother through the base "How are things your end?"

"We're fine. Splinter woke up a little while ago and he's joined me and Chaplin in the main room. I'll set up the infirmary for you guys" answered April

"Thanks April"

"Good luck guys"

Clicking off the headset, Leonardo turned to his red clad brother. A silent understanding passed between them; they would not leave here without Michelangelo.

"So we going down, or what?" asked Raphael, the anger simmering in his tone

"It's our best bet" agreed the leader as they took off running through the base

The following ten minutes passed anxiously as the brothers searched every inch of the base. It was hard work. The base had been designed to be nearly identical whichever way you turned and they were running out of places to look. As they swiftly approached another room, Leonardo felt cold dread settle in his stomach. As far as he could tell they had searched nearly every room in the building and found nothing that could lead them to an underground maze or wherever their younger brother was being held.

Raphael was clearly feeling the same as he shoved the door open only to come face to face with a cupboard full of cleaning supplies. Letting loose a growl of frustration, the red masked turtle kicked the bucket by his feet and sent it tumbling into the cupboard.

"Where is he?" He demanded to no one in particular

"Calm down Raph. We'll find him" reassured the eldest turtle despite his own doubts

"How do we know he's even here?" said Raphael, voicing the question that had been plaguing him too. In truth they didn't know. He could be in a different base.

Leonardo was struggling to find a response that would be both reassuring and motivating when he heard it. At first he wasn't quite sure what he'd heard, but in the eerie silence of the base, this new sound was noticeable.

"Raph, quiet" commanded Leonardo, stepping past his brother and into the small cupboard

Although he wasn't a fan of following his brother's orders, the urgency in his brother's voice was clear and Raphael instantly went on full alert.

Leonardo was certain he had imagined it when he heard it again. It sounded distant but it sounded like a cry of some sort. Glancing back at his brother, Leonardo knew he had heard it too.

"Mikey" called Leonardo

He got no response other than the distant cry he had heard before.

"Raph, let's move everything out of here" ordered the blue clad Ninja, already throwing mops and buckets into the corridor

"You think it’s coming from underneath?" asked Raphael joining his brother

"Only one way to find out"

* * *

 Michelangelo was losing the feeling in his body. More specifically, the parts of his body that were pressed against the bottom of the vent were going numb. This included his feet, legs, plastron and arms. Unfortunately he was still painfully aware of the razor sharp spikes pressing down on him. If he moved in the air vent at all the cruel spikes dug deeper into him, and some were already stuck in his shell. If he stayed still the ice cold base beneath him would potentially cause him frost bite.

The orange masked turtle was in pain, alone and scared. He didn't want to die like this. In desperation he had released his frustrated howls into the enclosed space; the silence had made this experience worse.

Letting out a gasp of pain, Michelangelo once again forced his freezing hands off the ice cold vent. He was exhausted and part of him wondered why he was delaying the inevitable; no help was coming.

Having accepted his fate, Michelangelo was about to surrender to the icy death Karai had sentenced him to when he could have sworn he heard a sound. Had he finally lost his mind?

No. There was definitely something there. Something above him.

"Mikey" called a voice he had been longing to hear, though it sounded very distant

No, this wasn't real. It was another trick; part of the game.

"Mikey" called the voice again, closer this time

While Michelangelo struggled to decide whether the voice was an illusion or reality, a loud bang echoed around him, as if someone had struck the vent. He could hear the voice again, this time another voice joined it.

The banging became more insistent, but Michelangelo barely noticed as light spilled into his prison. It was a dream, not worth his rapidly dwindling attention. More light illuminated him, and he felt a tugging sensation as if something had been ripped out of his shell. He was so cold.

A fiery hand touched his numb shoulder, and the orange masked turtle was certain he could see his eldest brother. Worry etched deep on his face, as he looked at Michelangelo. It was the last thing the tormented turtle saw before he surrendered to the darkness dragging him away.

* * *

 The battle shell tore through the back streets of New York as Casey forced the armoured van through a twisting, winding route. They needed to get back to the lair as soon as possible; they also couldn't risk being followed.

Casey had met no resistance as he pulled Donatello through the Foot base and into the vehicle. The turtle had seemed disoriented and struggled to move under his own power. They had been in the van for almost an hour before the back doors had been thrown open and an unconscious Michelangelo had been carried in by Raphael and Leonardo. Donatello had recoiled at the noise the turtles made as they entered and lay their orange clad brother on the floor of the vehicle. Casey had secured the genius turtle in a seat, seeing how his physical injuries didn't seem too serious, but the ninja had been coherent enough to realise that his brother was in a bad condition. Leonardo had taken charge of the situation and ordered Casey to get them out of here while directing Raphael to assist him with Michelangelo. The leader had continued to multitask by describing both Donatello and Michelangelo’s injuries to April over the headset.

"What's going on back there?" Called Casey, noticing the frantic actions seemed to have ceased and an eerie quiet had taken over

"Mikey is in a bad condition, but we can't really help him here" confirmed Leonardo "Donnie is awake but not responding"

"He didn't say anything to me either" replied Casey, worry creeping into his voice

The van lapsed into silence again and Casey decided to keep the turtles talking; hoping it might distract them from their worry.

"Where did you find Mike?" He asked after a moment

"In an air vent" said Raphael, darkness colouring his tone "he was wedged in an air vent that was freezing cold with spikes sticking into him"

Casey was almost sorry he asked, as he heard the appalling condition his friend had been kept in. Swinging the van around one more corner, Casey was relieved to see the garage entrance to the turtle’s lair in sight.

The entrance was already open when Casey skidded to a halt inside, April and Chaplin waiting for their arrival.

"What's he doing here?" questioned Raphael, leaping from the van to block Chaplin’s access

"We need his help" replied April simply, stepping past the mutant to his three brothers

"Raphael, stand down. Help me move Mikey. Casey move Donatello with Chaplin" barked Leonardo, determined that now was not the time for arguing

Reluctantly, the red masked turtle shot a venomous glare at the scientist before moving to Michelangelo. In a way, Casey felt a bit sorry for the guy. As far as he was concerned, the scientist had proven his intentions and Casey felt he deserved a little respect back.

"Yo, you gonna give me a hand or what?" He called to where Chaplin stood rooted to the spot

"Oh, sure" he replied hesitantly

After a few minutes of struggling they were all moving downwards in the large lift to the lair. Donatello had barely stirred as Casey and Chaplin supported him, he was awake but not present. Like his mind was trapped somewhere else.

Casey was relieved to see the inside of the lair when the lift finally opened and they trailed towards the infirmary.

"My sons" called a hoarse, desperate voice that caused the whole group to freeze.

Upon entering the lair, Casey had completely forgotten about Splinter. Clearly, so had everyone else.  The rat was propped up in the arm chair, staring at his injured sons in horror. Immediately, everyone seemed unsure what to do. Of course Splinter would want to help them, even though he was in no condition to. Seeing the indecision on everyone else's faces and the worry etched on Splinters, Casey made a decision.

"You don't need me in there, do ya?" He asked quietly

"No... thanks" replied April, realising what he was offering

"Cool, I’ll hang with Splinter then" announced Casey, sliding out from under Donatello and letting Chaplin take his full weight.

Leonardo shot him a grateful smile as they continued into the infirmary and Casey made his way over to Splinter, who was looking on in heart break at the injured turtles. To the human it was simple. Someone needed to take care of Splinter while April and Chaplin cared for the injured turtles. It had occurred to Casey that Raphael and Leonardo were understandably stressed and worried, so he was more than willing to sit with their Father and ease the burden on the young turtles.

"Hey, you want some tea or something?" He asked, getting no response from the rat who was staring towards the infirmary with a deep sadness. Casey had never really spent a lot of time with Splinter since he usually hung out with the turtles, but he was still his friend and it was hard to see him looking so sad.

“They’ll both be fine” said Casey in an attempt to reassure the rat, hoping his words were true

“This should not have happened. I couldn’t protect them” said Splinter, and Casey got the distinct impression he was talking to himself.

Unsure what to do, Casey briefly reconsidered the wisdom of offering to take care of Splinter. He wasn’t exactly easy to talk to, and Casey wasn’t the most sensitive of people. Glancing towards the infirmary, Casey heard the frantic whispers of the turtles, April and Chaplin as they tried to repair the damage the mad woman had caused. Immediately, he felt bad for thinking about leaving Splinter. The poor guy needed help, or at least someone to keep him company. With renewed determination, Casey turned his attention back to the rat.

“So, how do you want your tea?”


	21. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all your lovely comments! Enjoy the new chapter

**Chapter 20**

Running on silent feet through the sewers, Raphael used his anger to propel himself powerfully forwards. He had been desperate for this; to escape. It had only been two days since they had rescued Michelangelo and Donatello and within that time his hatred of Karai had grown into an unquenchable need for revenge. Every time he looked at his damaged family, the need to destroy the one who had hurt them burned so hot he thought he might catch fire.

They would all live, and the red masked turtle was grateful for that. Over the past two days Michelangelo and Donatello had slowly opened up about what had happened to them and Raphael was grateful for that; it fuelled his fire. Unlike himself, his eldest brother or even Splinter, Michelangelo and Donatello were more open to talking about their own experience. With Michelangelo, the tales came from his nightmares. Himself or Leonardo had woken up multiple times to the orange masked turtles screams which had been the beginning of sharing the terror that had been inflicted on him.

Donatello had been slower to open up, but it had been guilt that had eventually driven the confession. The purple clad turtle had suffered some burns and weakness from being electrocuted but the most noticeable change was his sensitivity to noise and the way he seemed to be losing focus. It was almost like his brother's focus had been removed, damaged and put back in. When Donatello had seen Michelangelo’s injuries he had been distraught and immediately babbled apologies to his unconscious brother. The genius turtle’s, behaviour had confused them all and it had taken a lot of coaxing from them and April until he told them what had happened.

It made Raphael’s heart twist just thinking about it; how Karai had forced Donatello to choose his brother's punishment while he himself was being driven insane. Raphael wasn't really a talking turtle, but he was always willing to listen and he was glad he knew what had been done to his brother's. It helped him to know exactly what he was going to be paying Karai back for. In a way, he was glad to have seen what Karai had done to Splinter as well. His Father would have never told them the details and Raphael knew it was important that they knew so they could help him; no matter how much it hurt him.

Swinging up a ladder, Raphael quickly climbed to the next level of the sewers as his mind strayed back to his family. It had driven him crazy, in the lair. Donatello was resting, but had a haunted, guilty look hanging from his face and had taken to sitting in quiet parts of the lair. Michelangelo was still very weak and injured so he was on bed rest but had quietly asked them to leave a light on and not leave him alone. After what he had been through, no one had the heart to refuse him so Leonardo and April sat with him most of the day. They had of course brought Splinter in to see him numerous times, but the rat was hardly good company in his current state. Their Father had withdrawn even further into himself since they had returned and mostly rested while Casey talked his ear off, hoping to lighten his mood. Raphael hated to see his strong family so weak and broken. Leonardo and April were frantically trying to look after all of them, with Casey and Raphael helping where they could. Chaplin was still with them, and had been helping to care for their injuries under supervision. Grudgingly, Raphael had come to some respect for the scientist when he found him engaging in a scientific debate with Donatello. It had shown a spark of his brother that had been missing since his captivity.

Convinced that his family was currently out of danger, Raphael had stepped out to clear his head. He had tried hard to be patient, but his anger was eating him alive and the red masked turtle thought it was better to blow up out here than in the lair.

The Ninja continued with his training run; pushing himself hard to burn out his energy as he leapt and ran through the labyrinth of the sewers. It wasn't until he reached a drainage junction that he noticed a presence. The junction he was in was comprised of a series of walkways spiralling upwards towards the higher tunnels. Sewer water poured from pipes into the large drain below, and the junction was quite loud because of it.

It was years of Ninja training that had alerted Raphael to the unwanted intruder, following him in the shadows and hiding amongst a tangle of pipes. Immediately the red clad turtle spun towards the hidden Ninja and withdrew his Sai. How dare the Foot invade his home turf?

"Show yourself!" dared Raphael into the shadows, his eyes glinting in anticipation

He was answered a moment later when a well-built Ninja leapt from the shadows and landed before him on the walkway. Raphael took an immediate dislike to the man who stood there like he had been sent on an important errand. Pompous and arrogant the man hardly needed the Foot symbol on his uniform to spark a conflict with Raphael.

"I am here to deliver a message" announced the Ninja with a deep, heavy accent

"I've got a message to send too. Maybe I should carve it into ya so ya don't forget?" growled Raphael, twirling his weapons as he stared down the Ninja

"Mistress Karai has a similar flare for leaving her mark" noted the Ninja in response.

Raphael’s blood boiled as Splinters tattoo flashed through his mind, followed swiftly by the dents and lines carved into Michelangelo’s shell. Beneath the mask the NInja wore, Raphael was certain he was mocking him.

"You got a death wish?" He threatened

"My life or death matters little. Mistress Karai sends you an offer" the Foot Ninja continued "she will face you in combat to the death, tonight. But only if you come alone"

"If I refuse?" questioned the turtle, mentally considering his options.

"You can return to your cave and hide" he shrugged "the choice is yours"

The Foot soldier remained standing to attention and had yet to draw a weapon. The various options ran through Raphael’s mind at break neck speed, all desperate for his attention. There was one thought that shouted louder than the others though; he could end this. No more of his family would be involved; Leonardo would be there for them. At best he would kill Karai, at worst he would die and his family would still be in danger.

A part of Raphael urged him to not be reckless, and to go home to his family. But as soon as he thought of home, he saw his broken family and knew deep down he would have to end it. The opportunity was here and he couldn't let it slip away. Letting it pass could mean his family would be hurt again, possibly killed. There was only one choice.

"Where?" demanded Raphael, lacing the question in venom

"Follow me, turtle" said the Ninja before he quickly disappeared through the tunnel, Raphael following swiftly behind.

One way or another, this would end.

* * *

Karai had been overseeing the preparations of her current base when she got the news. A small smirk briefly showed on her usually stoic face as the messenger informed her that Raphael had taken the bait. It had been easier than she ever hoped to lure the red clad turtle here and she couldn't help but take some satisfaction in the mutant’s stupidity.

She had captured and tormented three of their pathetic family so far, it was abundantly clear they were two steps behind her with no way of catching up and they had no advantage over her. The research that had gone into this plan was proving well worth it, and the latest evidence of that was fast approaching.

Turning her attention to the Foot soldiers working around her, Karai observed their progress.

"Work faster" she barked, noting how much still needed to be done before Raphael arrived. She was pleased to see the Foot Soldiers immediately quicken their pace; unwilling to risk her wrath.

After everything Karai had done to the turtles she had thought it might require more work to capture Raphael but the stupid turtle had agreed to the duel almost immediately. Karai almost felt sorry for Leonardo, his last brother was about to be subjected to her treatment. Any sympathy she might have felt for the leader had died when her Father was banished. In its place was a yearning to break the enemy, and use any means necessary to do it. Donatello and Michelangelo had suffered to make Leonardo suffer; the rat had suffered for the same reason but she had made sure he suffered more. Splinter had been her Father's most hated enemy and when she began this plan, Karai knew she would use him for two purposes. To take from Leonardo what he had taken from her and to finally break her Father's enemy. Karai could only hope the Shredder would be proud of what she had achieved.

Satisfied that the necessary preparations were being made, Karai made her way out of the large hall. This base was different to the ones she had previously used and that was how it had been planned. Predictability could kill, after all. Raphael would be broken tonight, and sent back to his pathetic family. Then, she would go for Leonardo.

Karai knew that hurting his family would hurt him more than any torture and she also knew it would always end with the two of them. He was a puppet on a string, dancing to a song he couldn't hear and soon it would end.

The one at fault would pay the price and revenge would be complete.

Walking through the dimly lit corridors, Karai could barely contain her anticipation. Tonight would be unforgettable.

* * *

"Donatello, do not blame yourself for your brother's injuries. The fault is not yours" insisted Splinter to his purple clad son.

The turtle was sat on the couch resting; white bandages covered the electrical burns on his body as he conversed with Splinter. The two had been sat in silence for some time before Splinter had decided to try and alleviate some of the guilt that clung to his intelligent son.

"I made the decisions" he replied

"Because you were forced to"

"I chose the punishment he faced"

"You were being tortured, and still you tried to choose the less damaging option" reminded Splinter gently.

Donatello has been quiet and distracted since his return and the rat was determined to help his sons heal. Splinter was slowly healing; at least that was what he had been told. In truth he still felt no better than when he had first been beaten, which had resulted in him doing nothing more than sitting around the lair while the rest of his family cared for him and his two sons. He couldn't help but feel guilty. He should be taking care of them. They should not have been hurt in the first place.

"It's not your fault either" offered Donatello, interrupting his thoughts

"You were captured because you came to rescue me" stated Splinter

"Did you think we wouldn't come for you?" snorted Donatello in disbelief "you would never leave us"

"That is different" insisted Splinter

"Why?"

"Because I am your Father" snapped Splinter as he fidgeted in the arm chair, his agitation clear to see

"Woah, you dudes need to lay of the self-blame! Has Leo been giving you lessons?" Interrupted a familiar voice

Both Donatello and Splinter turned to find Michelangelo making his way over to the couch, leaning heavily on Leonardo. April, Casey and Chaplin followed behind, as Michelangelo slumped into the couch next to Donatello.

"Should you be out of bed so soon?" asked Splinter, concern replacing his agitation

"Probably not" agreed Michelangelo "but bed rest is boring and Casey was threatening to drown himself in the sink if he had to listen to you two anymore"

Casey shrugged defensively as the glares of both Donatello and Splinter burnt into him, but neither could deny the accusation. The orange masked turtle was covered in bandages, mostly for the puncture wounds in his sides and legs but thick bandages also covered his hands and feet. Thankfully, he had been rescued before the intense cold had caused frostbite but his limbs were still somewhat numb and Michelangelo was in the midst of a rather nasty cold. His torture at the hands of Karai had left new marks and dents in his shell and a rather large line across his chest where the robot Foot Ninja had tried to kill him, but Michelangelo was just glad to be home.

He'd heard from the others that Donatello was guilt ridden and the turtle in question had apologised multiple times, but to Michelangelo it was unnecessary. It wasn't Donatello’s fault, his brother had done his best to protect him. Michelangelo was surprised to see Splinter in such a state, considering he had pulled Leonardo from guilt trips many times before. Despite the horror he had faced, the orange masked turtle hadn't forgotten the video he had seen of what Karai had done to Splinter. Taken in context, his Father's behaviour made much more sense even if it was painful to see the rat so unlike himself.

"Besides, we've got important stuff to do tonight and Leo said all shells were needed on deck" said Michelangelo, turning the group's attention to Leonardo who now stood in front of the couch and chairs.

"Actually, I told you to stay in bed but you insisted on coming out" defended Leonardo, a fond smile on his face.

"Details, bro" replied the orange clad turtle, before sneezing loudly

"Could have left his germs in the infirmary" muttered Casey, stepping away from the sick turtle

"I think Leo was about to go through something important" reminded April before an argument could start.

"Thanks April" he replied gratefully.

Taking a moment to look at his assembled family, Leonardo noted the absence of Raphael. He saw the exhaustion on the faces of April, Chaplin and Casey. He saw with a pang of guilt the pain and trauma etched on to his Father and brothers.

"The Foot have gone too far. Karai has gone too far, and tonight it ends."


	22. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone still reading and commenting! You guys are awesome

**Chapter 21**

Raphael had been following the Foot soldier for about 40 minutes when the route began to seem familiar. The journey had been silent, and Raphael knew he had been led to the location in a long route. Possibly to ensure they weren't being followed, possibly to tire him out before the duel with Karai; Raphael only knew it was delaying the payback he was about to deliver. Leaping to the next rooftop, the Foot soldier suddenly turned right and jumped three more rooftops before waiting at a high building opposite an art museum.

Realisation came to Raphael slowly, and then hit him full force as he joined the Foot soldier. The art museum. It was the first place they had encountered the Foot when they stole the sword of Tengu. The once vibrant museum now looked to be falling into disrepair, with boards covering some windows and the general sense of abandonment that covered the building.

"The sword was a highlight of the museum and its loss cost them much business, as did repairing the damage of that battle" said the Foot soldier, his eyes never leaving the building opposite

"You an employee or something?" quipped Raphael as his anger rose. Why did he feel angry? It was just a stupid museum.

"Now it is the base of choice tonight for my Mistress, and for your death" continued the Foot soldier

"Ha" snorted Raphael "if I were you I'd start looking for another job. Your boss is gonna have a little accident tonight"

"You will die" insisted the soldier "but I look forward to the battle"

With that the Ninja flipped from the roof and strolled towards the front door, giving Raphael the impression he was to follow. This was it. One way or another, this would end.

The red clad ninja didn't hesitate as he leapt from the rooftop and landed silently in front of the steps leading to the museum. Raphael withdrew his weapons as he made his way into the reception area, and his first impression was that it didn't seem to have changed. The only notable difference being the layer of dust that coated the cabinets and displays in the reception. The gift shop was empty and all of the actual art pieces had been removed. It was only empty display units and furniture remaining. Looking around the area, Raphael saw no sign of the Ninja who had led him here and noted the only other exit from the room was down a narrow corridor to one side of the reception.

Raphael spent the next five minutes moving silently through winding corridors and empty rooms until he came upon something familiar. The room he was now in had once housed the sword of tengu. If his memory hadn't made the connection the display information next to the empty cabinet would have. He couldn't resist the urge to look closer at the empty glass case and Raphael quickly ran his hands over the stand the sword had once sat in. Even now, he could remember how much pain and destruction that sword had caused.

"If you have finished reminiscing turtle, destiny awaits" stated a voice from behind

The red masked turtle levelled a glare at the Foot soldier who had led him here, as he pointed calmly to the next narrow corridor on the left side of the room. Spinning his sai into an offensive position, Raphael held his head high as he walked through the short corridor before coming out into a large room with a balcony higher up that led around the second floor. A large skylight cast some moonlight into the room and illuminated the hundred or so Foot soldiers that lined the room and balcony. In this room, the display cabinets had been removed and two Foot banners hung either side of a raised black throne on the balcony. It was there Raphael saw Karai, staring down at him with an arrogant smirk that showed her confidence.

Raphael let loose a snarl as they locked eyes, anger and hate burning across the distance between them. She wasn't wearing her regular Ninja outfit or the armour of the shredder. Instead she wore a tight fitting armoured jumpsuit with the Foot emblem on the left side of the shining metal. A black hooded cloak hung from the back of the armour and spilled over the throne, giving the impression of royalty. Or the grim reaper; Raphael wasn't sure which. Rather than a full helmet a smaller metal shield covered her mouth and nose, curving around the bottom half of her face.

"It ain't Halloween ya know. You can take your witches outfit off" called Raphael through gritted teeth, his voice echoing.

"Your outfit doesn't come off, does it?" Questioned Karai innocently, a manic gleam illuminating her eyes as she removed the protective mask. She had the look of someone about to fulfil a dream; anticipation clung to her otherwise frosty demeanour.

Choosing to ignore the comment, Raphael readied his fighting stance, "nice of ya to bring all your pals to see ya get beat"

"Did you think I would be fighting you?" Enquired Karai as the Foot soldiers lurking in the shadows moved forward "you are too lowly to waste my time on. Perhaps if you can prove yourself I will consider it"

With an angry growl, Raphael made to dash towards Karai but was quickly intercepted by a barrage of attacks from multiple opponents. Fighting with one hand, Raphael moved to withdraw his shell cell but no sooner was it in his hand before an arrow shot through the darkness and destroyed it.

"You're so predictable Raphael. Charging in here alone. Were you going to call your brother for help?" She mocked as the mutant ferociously fought the Foot soldiers surrounding him

As Raphael fought viciously against the Foot, Karai continued to narrate the battle.

"That block was sloppy. You will not last long if you carry on like this" she tutted at him

Raphael felt his rage building as the woman continued to mock him, she was belittling him and the red masked turtle was struggling to focus on the immediate battle as he tried to plough his way through the sea of Ninja.

"Will you shut up!" He bellowed in pure rage, adrenaline rushing through his body like fire

"Don't lose your temper with me mutant" warned Karai even though the smirk on her face said she was pleased with his response, "the rat had a nasty temper too, fortunately I managed to tame him"

"How dare you?" Roared Raphael as his fist crashed into the nearest Ninjas face, instantly knocking him out. The fact that Karai dared to mention his Father only served to further enrage the already furious turtle. She had no right to speak about his family, not after how she had tortured them. How she had caused nothing but agonising fear and panic for the rest of their family.

The battle raged for what seemed to be a lifetime, with Raphael emptying his anger onto the Foot soldiers stupid enough to attack him. The red masked turtle had sustained some injuries; a steady stream of blood poured from a slash across his right arm and he was sure his ankle was at least sprained if not broken from a sweep attack. Despite the adrenaline rush, Raphael couldn't deny that he was nearing the end of his endurance. Bodies lay in heaps around him but for every defeated Ninja two more appeared.

"Enough" called Karai, having watched the battle rage on for a few minutes longer

Immediately, her Ninja retreated leaving Raphael breathing heavily and bleeding in the centre of the moonlit room.

"Is that your plan?" Sneered the turtle "wear me out so you can swoop in with a final blow"

"You could not possibly comprehend my plan" replied Karai, arrogance dripping from every word

"Aww, the alien bug you called Daddy got what he deserved and now you're having a tantrum" taunted Raphael

The shredders daughter struggled to contain her rage at the mutants mockery; she couldn't risk ruining her plan. It required absolute focus and dedication.

"Say what you like Raphael. I did not grow up in a sewer with a filthy rat, like you. Your comments matter little to me, your time left is very short"

"You make me sick" spat Raphael "sat on your little throne watching your minions get beat on your behalf. You ain't got any honour"

"I understand more than you could ever hope to, mutant"

Karai spared the turtle a sadistic smile as the Ninja surrounding a door way at the far end of the room stood aside. In their place strode two huge black clad figures bearing the Foot Clan emblem. With a jolt of panic, Raphael recalled part of Michelangelo’s story. A robotic giant wielding an ono.

One of the menacing figures was carrying the heavy weapon while the other leisurely swung a kusarigama in circles to its side. Immediately, Raphael knew these were like the deadly robot Michelangelo had described. From what his brother had told him, they were agile, strong and lethal.

It was clear the robots were in no hurry as they approached him; it would be like squashing a bug to them. Karai leaned forward on her black throne, eagerly awaiting the bloodbath that was sure to happen.

"Michelangelo barely survived one, I doubt you will do any better" she called down to him

Deciding to face them head on, Raphael leapt towards the robot with the kusarigama, deeming the vicious blade on a chain the biggest threat. The robots that had just appeared to be lumbering suddenly moved with surprising speed and the red masked turtle found himself leaping into an empty space where his enemy had once been.

It was instinct alone that made Raphael leap upwards as the chain weapon swept underneath him, missing only by a fraction. The turtle landed awkwardly on his already damaged leg and had no chance of stopping the ono that whipped past him. He could only lean backwards as the wicked blade sliced painfully into his side, severing his belt in the process.

Pain exploded in his left side as the edge of his plastron was sliced open and spurted blood. It was a bad injury, but Raphael knew he had been very lucky. That blow could of killed him. The next few minutes were filled with tension as the Ninja turtle did all he could to fight the robots, but ultimately he was just delaying the inevitable. He was exhausted, injured and out matched, no matter how much he wanted to deny it.

"You're a coward" spat Raphael to Karai, his eyes never leaving his two opponents

"All is fair in war Raphael" came the silky reply

"We did ya a favour getting rid of the Shredder! You were free" growled Raphael, stumbling backwards from the chain that threatened to entangle him

"You killed him. I told Leonardo to leave him, but he would not stop. He took everything from me and now I take everything from him!" Roared Karai, momentarily losing her composure to her emotions.

As she had ranted, the battle had continued and Raphael had found himself caught. The kusarigama had wrapped around his waist pinning both arms to his sides, and causing his weapons to clatter to the ground. The second Ninja was approaching the trapped turtle with its Ono as the first held tight to the chained weapon.

"This is how it ends Raphael. I think my robot Ninja will remove your shell, it will make a lovely trophy on my wall" explained Karai seeing the end had come "you will die alone and I will leave your shell-less corpse for Leonardo to find"

"I'm never alone" snarled Raphael as the robot Ninja approached him

At that moment, two things happened at once. The robot Ninja dropped the Ono in front of Raphael as the skylight shattered and two familiar figures swiftly descended from ropes into the centre of the room.

The chain around Raphael fell loose and both robots turned to face Karai, and each raised their right hand in a wave.

In sync they spoke "Hey Mistress Karai, remember me?"


	23. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is only one more chapter and the epilogue left after this! Please let me know what you think, this is the longest story I've ever written!

**Chapter 22**

The seconds following the unexpected entrance and Karai losing control of her robots seemed to turn the entire room to statues, as if they were art pieces in the museum. To Raphael it was like someone had hit pause on the whole museum, but it lasted only a fleeting moment before all hell broke loose. Since this entire nightmare began Karai had been pulling the strings, but now the arrival of Leonardo and Casey Jones had destroyed months of hard work. The moment the robot spoke, Karai recognised the voice. Instantly, a missing piece clicked into place.

Chaplin.

She had got rid of him but had neglected to have him killed. Now, he was clearly working with the turtles. Even worse, it now made sense how Leonardo had found her last base.

"Kill them!" Screeched Karai, instantly snapping her Ninja into action

Glancing at the fighting that had broken out, Karai stood from her throne and quickly left the area through a narrow corridor leading deeper into the museum.

In the midst of the battle, Raphael flashed a triumphant grin to his older brother and Casey who were now standing back to back with him as the Foot closed in from all sides.

"I don't say this often Leo, but good plan bro"

"How badly are you hurt?" Questioned the leader, having seen the blood that covered his brother

"I’ll live" he grunted in reply, preparing once again for battle

"Hey Leo, she's making a break for it" called Casey pointing towards the retreating form of Karai. The vigilante sported his hockey mask and a bat in each hand

"Go stop her" urged Raphael

"You need me here" replied the leader, seeing how heavy the odds were against them

"Actually Leonardo, we can help with that" crackled the voice of Chaplin over the radio

Almost at once, the robot Ninjas that had been set on killing Raphael lifted their weapons again and launched an attack on the unsuspecting Foot Ninja behind them. The robots continued to plough through the sea of soldiers, turning the tide of battle as they went.

"Donatello and I have taken control of them" confirmed the scientist, as if it wasn't obvious

Leonardo hesitated for only a moment before nodding to Casey and Raphael and racing after Karai. The blue clad turtle effortlessly flipped onto the balcony where her throne was before tearing down the corridor she had just gone down. As he pursued her, Leonardo's mind raced with the rush of the last 2 hours.

**Two hours earlier:**

"So we're all in agreement?" questioned Raphael to his assembled family, minus Michelangelo who was sleeping.

"I'm not comfortable with this my sons" insisted Splinter with a look of despair

'I don't like it either Sensei, but it’s our only chance of getting ahead of Karai" reasoned Leonardo.

Since they had gotten their brother's back, both Leonardo and Raphael had been desperately seeking a plan to defeat Karai. The Intel they had from Chaplin suggested Karai would target Raphael next. The leader had thought long and hard about what had happened so far. Hours had been spent in meditation so he could see clearly. So he could see what had already occurred and hopefully what would come next. It had taken a while, but eventually he realised he couldn't do it alone, so he spoke to his family, to his allies.

Clarity had come at last. Karai had been using their personalities against them. She had researched them, studied them and now she was one step ahead because her team could predict what they would do next.

That was how they had formed their own plan; they gave her what she expected.

A hot tempered Raphael burning energy alone in the sewers, quick to agree to a duel out of pride. It was all fake.

Leonardo had watched Raphael leave the lair with deep worry; they were taking a huge risk. Chaplin had said Karai was targeting their own weakness and Raphael’s was his inability to back down. They had set their own trap. Raphael would leave the lair alone and hopefully the Foot would find him. He would play along and plant a tracker when he was close to Karai. After an agonising hour, the tracker had come to life. It was tiny and would be difficult to spot wherever Raphael left it, and as soon as it registered on Donatello’s system they were already moving.

April drove the van and parked a good distance from the area, leaving Leonardo and Casey to sneak their way in. The blue masked turtle felt bad about benching Donatello and Michelangelo but neither was in any condition to fight. Instead, Chaplin and Donatello had been working on hacking into Karai’s network. The tracker Raphael planted in the museum acted as a wireless devise that boosted their chances of hacking the network and giving them a chance to slow down Karai's operation.

Leonardo and Casey were approaching the familiar museum when they noticed a lone Foot elite standing in plain sight on the next rooftop.

"Shouldn't he be lurking in the shadows?" asked Casey, as he and Leonardo crouched behind a chimney stack on their current rooftop.

"We can't be slowed down, we take him out now" ordered the leader removing his Katana from his shell and peering at the elite from their hiding place

"It's simple. I like it" shrugged Casey, quite willing to launch an attack

Leonardo led the way as they moved as quietly as possible to the elite’s position. The Ninja had his back to them, and spoke without turning.

"I will not fight you" he said, his accented voice like a whisper on the rooftop

Leonardo and Casey had both been approaching the Ninja from different directions when he spoke. The two shared a confused look across the rooftop as Casey waited for Leonardo to decide on how they approach this.

As if sensing the confusion his statement he caused, the elite continued.

"I will not stop you helping your brother" he said "just be sure to kill Karai"

At that Leonardo decided to take the risk and emerge from the shadows, Casey following.

"Why?" questioned the young leader, distrust clear in his eyes

The elite turned to face them, his red cloak blowing slightly in the breeze "she dishonours us all by the path she takes"

"So you finally got some morals?" asked Casey, hockey stick held ready in case it was a trap

"The Foot Elite serve the one true Shredder, Karai is an imposter" he replied a hint of anger burning in his eyes

"You've served her so far" fired back Leonardo knuckles clenched tightly on the hilt of his Katana

"The elite had no part in what happened to your Master and brothers!" He snarled "to kill in battle is honourable. To torture for information, is often necessary. Karai tortured your family for sadistic pleasure; to hurt you"

"Why didn't you stop her then?" growled Leonardo

"Yeah, the rest of the Foot goons didn't seem too bothered about it" added Casey

"They are foolish. It is my duty to serve the Foot, even if the leader is Karai. However, I cannot turn a blind eye to what she has done; damaging our reputation through dirty tactics" reinforced the elite turning his back to them once again

"My elite brothers will not stop you; they guard the skylight of the museum. Enter through there"

Leonardo and Casey stared dumbstruck at the back of the Foot soldier, caught between hope and caution. Could they trust him?

It took Leonardo a few moments to weigh up the options before he decided; for now they would have to believe what the elite said. His eyes never left the Ninja until both himself and Casey were on the roof of the museum, where two more elite stood either side. When neither made a move towards them, Leonardo decided it was now or never. Donatello and Chaplin were monitoring the situation through hacking the Foot computer system and the blue masked turtle was getting urgent messages through his headset.

They were about to kill Raph.

Thankfully, they were just in time, but the mission didn't end there. Reluctantly he left his brother and Casey to battle while he pursued Karai.

Everything that had happened to his family had led to this. Catching sight of an open window ahead, Leonardo saw a momentary glimpse of Karai's boot before he launched himself through the window and followed her to the roof.

The rooftop was the one he had been on with Casey earlier when they had broken through the skylight, and now Karai stood facing him as he approached. All four of the Foot Elite surrounded her, and Karai shot him a hateful look.

"This is not how things were supposed to go Leonardo" she spat "I will see Chaplin dead for this"

"You won't hurt anyone again" he promised, drawing his twin Katana and crossing them in front of him

"You're arrogant enough to believe you can defeat my elite guard alone?" She challenged, with a disapproving look "Kill him, I tire of these games"

No-one on the rooftop moved.

"Did you not hear me? Attack!" repeated Karai forcefully, seeing her guards had yet to move

"You wish him dead, you do it yourself" said one of the Ninja who Leonardo recognised as the one who spoke to him and Casey

"You dare?" shouted Karai

"You have brought nothing but shame to the Foot. I will only serve the true shredder"

At that the four elite guards disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving a furious Karai on the rooftop.

"You've no-one else to hide behind" said Leonardo, still holding his fighting position

Karai took a deep breath as she withdrew her own weapons, "the time has come, Leonardo. You will finally pay for your crimes against my Father"

The two Ninja charged at each other, weapons drawn for what would be their final confrontation. Vengeance would be found tonight.

* * *

"Ooh Donnie, that one’s sneaking up behind you. Chaplin, watch out on your right" directed Michelangelo from his seat between the two.

The scientist and Donatello had managed to take control of the robot Foot and were now using game controllers to control them. Unfortunately, Michelangelo’s hand injuries meant he couldn't play video games at the moment so the orange masked turtle had taken to backseat driving. Not that his advice was appreciated.

"Mikey, you're distracting us!" complained Donatello, using his robot to send an ambitious ninja into the wall

"You guys are rookies! Do nerds not play video games?" pondered Michelangelo, earning a pointed glare from his Father, currently sat in the arm chair.

"How many of these guys are there" moaned Donatello

"I could never get a proper head count" replied Chaplin casually

"Raphael needs help" pointed out Splinter, having noticed his sons tired movements in the corner of the screen

"On it" said Chaplin, hastily forcing a path towards the turtle

"Mikey, tell April to be ready with the battle shell" instructed Donatello

"Oh fine, I'll do the boring stuff" bemoaned the injured turtle, as he picked up the head set to contact their friend.

It was just typical. All those years of video game practice could have finally been put to use if he wasn't injured.

"Hey Ape" he sang down the headset "how's it going?"

"Mikey" muttered Donatello in exasperation, his eyes never leaving the screen

"Yeah we're ok, except the geek squad won't let me put my mad video game skills to use....oh right, I forgot you were geek squad too" chatted the turtle, happy to have someone else to talk to

"Michelangelo" warned Splinter, instantly speeding the turtle up

"Oh yeah, Donnie said be ready for an escape at any time.... cool thanks"

"Was it really that hard?" Donatello asked Chaplin as his brother finally ended the conversation

"Well excuse me for being social!" defended the orange clad turtle, sinking back into the couch to mope

"Try to rest, my son" suggested Splinter, noticing the slight wheeze in the turtle’s voice

Letting out a loud sneeze, Michelangelo continued to watch the screens. He wished he could have gone with the others, it didn't feel right sitting at home and he knew Donatello and Splinter felt the same.

He could only hope Leonardo would be able to finish this.


	24. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the last chapter before the epilogue! Thank you to everyone who has read this story, I've really appreciated your feedback on my longest story ever! I hope you enjoy this...

**Chapter 23**

The clash of swords rang out on the otherwise quiet rooftop, as Leonardo and Karai fought furiously with one another. Leonardo slashed diagonally with both swords only to be blocked by Karai, who retaliated with a side kick to the turtle’s side. Stumbling slightly, Leonardo surged forwards once more, blocking the incoming sword aimed at his throat before thrusting his other Katana forwards only for Karai to nimbly dodge the attack.

The battle continued like this; both evenly matched in skill and fuelled by fire. Distantly, Leonardo could still hear battle raging below them through the broken skylight and his thoughts strayed to how Casey and Raphael were doing. His brother had brushed off his injuries, but Leonardo knew he needed medical attention; he had to finish this quickly.

Dodging swiftly to the right, Leonardo launched a sharp front kick at Karai, following up with a reverse punch that caught her squarely on the jaw sending her backwards.

“It’s over Karai” threatened Leonardo, giving her one last chance to surrender

“It is over when I say, it is over” growled Karai, her eyes burning with rage

“I’ve beaten you at every turn“ she ranted, continuing to trade blows with the turtle “I ruined your pathetic family. They were at my mercy”

“Never again” promised Leonardo, furiously slashing at the woman who had hurt his family so badly

“I thought you had honour!” continued Leonardo, disarming Karai of one sword that clattered across the rooftop

Gripping the weapon she had left in front of her, Karai was forced backwards under the furious onslaught.

“I have honour mutant, I honour my Father! I will finally be rid of you, and then I will finish your pathetic family” she threatened

“The Shredder did not care about you!” roared Leonardo, “You could have been better than him, you’re blinded with hate”

“It is your fault he is gone. It is your fault your family suffered. Now this ends” she retaliated, steeling herself

“What you did to my family shows you have no honour!”

“They’re still alive aren’t they?” She shrugged dismissively

“After I finish you, I think I will capture them all again. I enjoyed the orange turtle’s screams, it was very soothing…” continued Karai

“Enough” warned Leonardo, warning clear in his voice as his body tensed

“The purple turtle was fun too, he thought he was so smart. I enjoyed watching him lose his mind”

“Stop, now!” called Leonardo, his own anger and disgust building as he sent Karai tumbling further back with a hard shove

“Of course, you know how I enjoyed the rat. He will make an excellent pet. I’m sure he’ll be more docile when all his sons are dead”

It took every ounce of discipline Leonardo possessed to not charge at Karai, but he knew that was what she wanted.

 _‘Focus’_ he told himself _‘don’t give her what she wants’_

The rooftop fell silent as Leonardo locked eyes with Karai. Slowly, the leader sheathed one Katana; now him and Karai were even.

Both Ninja were nearing exhaustion and sporting various cuts from the battle, but the moment had come to end this.

“One last chance Karai” said Leonardo, offering a final chance to stand down. He had honour; he would give her the chance even if he knew she wouldn’t take it.

“I fight now to avenge the Shredder!” came the response as Karai leapt towards Leonardo, aiming for his head

Grimly, Leonardo prepared himself. This was the only way.

Moving swiftly forwards, Leonardo and Karai met in mid-air. As Leonardo landed, he was unarmed. Karai stood stock still, just behind him. A blue handled katana running straight her. Her own sword clattered to the ground and she staggered backwards towards the skylight. Her attack had missed him completely.

“How could…this…revenge” she slurred at him, as she took in the sword that now run through her. Months of planning and preparation had all come undone, she had been so close.

Leonardo stood stoically to the side as Karai glared at him one last time, before she fell backwards through the broken skylight.

* * *

The horde of Foot Ninja was finally thinning when the action suddenly ceased. To Raphael it was almost slow motion as the body of Karai crashed to the ground, a familiar sword running through her. Panting hard Raphael glanced to his left to see Casey had also stopped fighting. The Foot Ninja left standing seemed unsure how to continue as the body of their mistress lay in the centre of the floor.

Looking upwards, Raphael saw the silhouette of his eldest brother watching through the broken skylight. He knew Leonardo would not have wanted things to end this way, in fact he was sure his brother would have given her chance to surrender. As far as Raphael was concerned, the quick death was far too merciful, but it was at least done.

“Now what” muttered Casey, coming up to Raphael.

The robots being controlled by Donatello and Chaplin had taken a lot of damage but were just about still standing and they had also stopped fighting.

The deadlock seemed to stretch on, when four Elite Ninja appeared on the balcony where Karai had previously watched the battle.

“Foot Ninja, vanish” called the elite in front, and the air suddenly filled with smoke. When it cleared, the Foot were gone and so was Karai’s body. A single Elite remained on the balcony.

“Man I hate it when they do that” grumbled Casey, coughing slightly

“You want to be next?” threatened Raphael to the elite, even though he was tired of battle

The elite ignored him and instead glanced upwards to where Leonardo stood in the skylight.

“The vendetta of Karai’s is finished. If you interfere with our plans in the future, we will retaliate” he stated

“What about Chaplin?” called Leonardo, to the surprise of Raphael. He had forgotten the Foot would surely be after him.

“We have no further business with him” replied the Elite, before he turned and left through the corridor

The area of the battle was a mess, with blood and weapons scattered around the disused museum.

A small thud next to him, told Raphael his eldest brother had now joined them.

“It had to be done, bro” affirmed Raphael, seeing the sad look his brother wore

“It did” he agreed, taking in the beat up state of Casey and Raphael

“Come on, April’s on her way with the battle shell. Let’s go home” said Leonardo heading towards the door

“Yeah, I could sleep for a week” agreed Casey

“Not a bad plan” said Raphael, the thought of a small rest very welcome

A few minutes later they were in the battle shell heading home. Casey had taken up driving, while April inspected Raphael’s injuries.

“This is going to qualify you for bed rest, Raph” said April

“It’s just a scratch” said Raphael, as April prodded the wound in his side

Turning her attention to Leonardo, she asked “It’s really over Leo?”

“I think so” he replied quietly

“Ya think so? She had a sword through her and fell from the skylight. There’s no coming back from that!” said Casey from the front seat

“I’m sorry it came to this, Leo” sympathised April, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze

“I’m not. If it means everyone is safe, it was worth it” declared the leader

“Hey Casey stop and get some pizza, will ya?” called Raphael

“You’re bleeding and you want pizza?” asked April incredulously

“Guys gotta eat! I must have burned a month of calories in that battle” he defended

“Usual, Raph?” asked Casey, turning the battle shell towards the takeaway

“Yeah, get enough for everyone in the lair”

“Are you even listening?” asked April in annoyance

As they continued to bicker, Leonardo let the guilt wash away from his mind. It was the only way. In the end she had been too far gone to save, and Raphael had been right. No more second chances. Now, he could focus on helping his family heal and move past this.

* * *

“So it’s finally over?” asked Michelangelo with optimism as he took in the scene from the robots viewpoint

“Looks like it” agreed Donatello, before turning to Chaplin “sounds like you’re safe too”

“That’s a relief!” agreed Chaplin, “I did enjoy using that robot though”

“Yeah, it was a pretty cool way to fight”

“I am very proud of you all” said Splinter, who had watched the scenes in silence

“Now we can kick back and chill” announced Michelangelo, who had already been lounging on the couch

“Yes, we can” said Splinter with a small smile.

Relief had flooded the rat when he saw Karai’s motionless body. She would not be able to hurt his sons now; they were safe at last.

“I should probably be going” said Chaplin quickly

“Stay for a bit dude” offered Michelangelo

“They’re bringing pizza” announced Donatello, seeing an annoyed text from April on his shell cell

The scientist glanced around before landing his eyes on Splinter.

“Please, join us. You are the reason my family is safe” said Splinter warmly, causing Chaplin to blush slightly

“Ok, if you’re sure”

“They need to hurry up” said Michelangelo between coughs “I’m in desperate need of some deep dish action”

Relaxing in the lair, Splinter waited impatiently for the rest of his family to return. He wouldn’t be completely satisfied until they were all back in his sight. Carefully he watched his injured sons laughing and joking with Chaplin, some of their usual demeanour returning to them. He knew it would be a long road to full recovery, but he was certain that his sons could do it. The death of Karai seemed to have lifted some of the fear and uncertainty that had clung to them. His thoughts strayed to Leonardo, and Splinter felt incredibly guilty. His son had proven himself a very capable leader, but it saddened the rat that Leonardo had needed to kill Karai. He knew there had been some sense of comradery between them at one time, with Leonardo believing she could be helped.

The events of the past few weeks must have surely hurt Leonardo, particularly since Karai had been targeting him all along. He would need to make certain the leader did not blame himself, for it was certainly not his fault.

Karai was a deeply twisted individual and the Shredder had helped make her into that, filling her head with vengeance and a warped sense of morality. When Splinter looked at his sons, he was proud of the fact they understood true honour. They were loyal, brave and fair.

Despite his satisfaction over Karai’s demise, Splinter still didn’t feel like himself. He knew it would take time, but he wasn’t sure how he could heal from what had happened and he hated himself for it. He was the parent, he needed to help his sons recover, but he wasn’t sure he could. Every time he closed his eyes, or tried to meditate his mind rebelled and showed him nothing but dark memories. That was to say nothing of the shame he felt. He still hadn’t been able to face Master Yoshi’s orb. The fear of his own Fathers disapproval had left him stuck. Logically he knew it was not Yoshi in the orb, but he could not bring himself to face it either.

At last, the lair door creaked open to reveal Casey supporting Raphael while a miffed looking April carried pizza boxes. Leonardo brought up the rear and headed straight for Splinter as everyone dived into the food.

“It’s finished, Father” said Leonardo quietly

“Thank you my son, for doing what I could not. You have become a very fine leader” replied the rat softly, his eyes shining with pride in his eldest son

“I wish it could have ended differently” whispered the turtle

“It was the only way Leonardo. You have a good heart, and she did not. It was her own rage that led to her death” comforted Splinter

Smiling slightly Leonardo joined his brothers and their friends. The threat of Karai no longer loomed over them, it was time to celebrate.


	25. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we've reached the end! This story is nearly 57000 words and is the biggest story I've ever written. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with this story and made it to the end! Please let me know if you've enjoyed this story! I will now focus on finishing my other story Broken Line and maybe add a few chapters to Explanations!

**Epilogue**

It had been 4 months since Karai’s vengeance had turned their lives upside down, but it finally seemed they were turning a corner. Now the leader watched his family move around the lair preparing for a movie night. The recovery of Leonardo’s family had been painfully slow, but they were finally healing, and normality was slowly returning to their lives.

Donatello had patches of discoloured skin where the worst electrical burns had occurred, but was otherwise physically recovered. It was the mental recovery that worried Leonardo. His brother was improving every day but still showed a dislike of loud, screeching sounds. Thankfully, he seemed to have made some peace with what happened to him and was no longer blaming himself for what happened to Michelangelo.

The orange masked turtle had suffered with a serious flu for a couple of weeks after his exposure to the damp and cold but had ultimately regained the feeling in his limbs he had lost in the freezing conditions. Unfortunately, Michelangelo had no chance of his plastron healing and a straight groove now cut horizontally across it. His shell had suffered similar damage and a few shallow holes could be found around the edges of it. Leonardo was just glad they hadn’t gone any deeper into his brother. It hadn’t taken too long for Michelangelo to bounce back from his experience but he did suffer from nightmares more frequently and his dislike of enclosed spaces was quite pronounced.

It was fine though, they were getting better. They would get through this.

Raphael had spent a couple of weeks on bed rest following the lengthy battle he endured and now had a large scar on his side where he had been hurt. It didn’t seem to bother the Ninja in the least, but it bothered Leonardo. It was he who had come up with the plan that put his brother in harm’s way.

From his seat in the kitchen, Leonardo saw the lair door open revealing April, Casey and Chaplin for movie night. As always, April and Casey were a constant presence in their lives and had provided a lifeline of support during the past few months as Leonardo struggled to care for his injured family. The blue masked turtle was surprised when Chaplin had kept in contact with them. With the Foot no longer interested in him, the scientist had managed to find a new job working for a technology company in the city. Leonardo had thought the scientist might cut ties with anyone connected to his old life and start fresh but Chaplin regularly chatted with Donatello and April about science and it wasn’t uncommon for the three to hang out in April’s apartment. They had also discovered he had a first name; Zachary. Although, Michelangelo continued to call him ‘Doc’. Overall, Leonardo was glad he had kept in touch. He had been invaluable in defeating Karai and had helped support his family as they recovered becoming a good friend, particularly to his purple masked sibling.

“Hey Leo, we’re about to start the movie!” announced Michelangelo sticking his head around the corner to the kitchen

“On my way” replied the leader fondly as he left his mug in the sink and went to join his family.

Whenever Leonardo had any doubts about what had happened to Karai, it was things like this that made it worthwhile. That justified his actions.

Seeing them playfully bickering over who got to sit where and what movie to watch filled Leonardo with warmth. That warmth dimmed slightly, when he saw the empty armchair.

Master Splinter’s recovery had been particularly difficult, mostly due to the extent of the injuries and his reluctance to accept their help. It had taken four months for him to heal, but even then his movements were much slower and stiffer than usual. It was clear to all of them that he was in pain both physically and emotionally. Karai’s mistreatment of him had left more than one mark. It was impossible to not notice the large scar that curved across his chest or the pained expression when he put too much pressure on a previously broken bone. Mercifully, his fur had grown back and mostly covered the tattoo on his arm though they often saw Splinter glancing at the limb angrily. Perhaps the most startling change had been their Fathers personality. He seemed to have shrunk in on himself and became quieter than he usually was. Leonardo had asked him to meditate with him multiple times, but Splinter seemed to have lost all enjoyment for the activity and refused most of the time. They had all tried to pull him out of the darkness he was hiding in, but every attempt saw the rat pulling further away from them.

None of them were surprised when he told them he was leaving for a while. He said he was going to Japan to visit the Ancient One, and hopefully find himself again. Neither Leonardo nor his brothers wanted Splinter to go. They knew he was hurting and were desperate to help him, but they didn’t want to make him feel any guiltier for going either. They promised him they would be fine, they showed him how to work his shell cell multiple times and they waited at the dock with him until his boat left. In truth, they were all worried about him. Leonardo knew first-hand how hard it could be when you didn’t feel right, and if spending some time alone would help Splinter recover he was happy to support him. Besides, Leonardo felt better knowing he would be with the Ancient One, even if he did feel a pang of sadness every time he saw his Fathers empty seat.

“Yo Leo, you gonna stare at the couch or sit on it?” called Raphael, dragging Leonardo out of his thoughts.

Yes, things were different. Both good and bad. As long as they were all still here, that was what mattered the most.

Leonardo knew now how it feels to lose everything, he also knew that he would do anything to protect them. That alone gave him strength and focus. He had always though Karai was similar to him in many ways and now he understood how different they truly were.


End file.
